NEW YORK – As Sugarland prepares for its "Ride or Die Tour" this fall, Jennifer Nettles is recalling a specific piece of advice a country music A-lister gave the band early on in its journey.
"I remember very specifically Brad Paisley saying to us, 'In your band, one bad apple can spoil the bunch,'" Nettles, 51, tells USA TODAY alongside her bandmate Kristian Bush. Nettles says Paisley added, "if you have someone out on the road with you in your band or in your crew that energetically doesn't want to be there, and it's obvious, move on."
Nettles and Bush credit Paisley along with Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney and Brooks & Dunn for showing them the ropes when it came to performing in large venues. Acts didn't just offer advice, they sometimes lent
production help to alleviate some of Sugarland's touring expenses as a supporting act.
Now Sugarland will return to the road as headliners on a 26-city tour to mark the 20-year anniversary of the duo's sophomore album, "Enjoy the Ride." The tour kicks off Oct. 1 in St. Augustine, Florida, and wraps Nov. 21 in Grand Prairie, Texas.
"Enjoy the Ride" was the first release after the group parted ways with founding member Kristen Hill. While neither addresses Hill's departure specifically (it was reportedly contentious), Nettles and Bush do remember learning to trust one another. Bush was thankful for Nettles' partnership. And Nettles felt they both "had a lot to prove." Without mentioning any one person, Nettles says that "sadly in this business they're waiting on you to fail sometimes.
"So we ourselves as songwriters, it was very validating that ('Enjoy the Ride') did as well as it did and continued to launch us forward in our careers because that was a very transitional time for us," Nettles continues. The album's lead single, "Want To," was Sugarland's first Billboard No. 1, topping the hot country songs chart. The second single, "Settlin'," followed suit. And the album went on to sell over three million copies in the U.S.
Is Sugarland signed to Big Machine Records? What the group says
When it comes to the music industry, many things have changed since "Enjoy the Ride" in 2006, including the Sugarland's record label. The LP was released on Mercury Nashville. In 2018, the group released the album "Bigger" through a joint venture between Universal Music Group Nashville and Big Machine Records. That LP included the track "Babe," which featured vocals and was cowritten by then-Big Machine artist Taylor Swift. The following year, Sugarland moved exclusively to Big Machine. The group released an EP "There Goes the Neighborhood" in 2024. But now, Nettles and Bush reveal that Sugarland is independent.
"I would never scoff at that," Bush, 56, says of Sugarland recording and releasing music independently. "The world we walked into 20 years ago when we were doing 'Enjoy the Ride,' we walked into very small keyholes you had to fit these ideas through in order to get them (heard)."
Specifically, the relationship between country radio and music artists has allowed those songs to travel to "people you'll never meet and in places you might never even be able to tour," according to Bush. Although the medium can still accomplish that, Bush notes how the changing landscape affects musicians in the studio.
"Now when I'm working with new artists, I keep telling them, 'You can do anything. It's not whether it sounds like it should be on the radio anymore. How does it make you feel?' And that's the only judgment call," he continues.
Sugarland compares its beginnings to today's artists, including Megan Moroney
Bush has been an in-demand songwriter and producer in Nashville, perhaps most notably producing all three of singer Megan Moroney's albums. The trifecta of LPs were released within a blistering three-year span, in which Bush says Moroney released almost 70 songs.
For comparison, Sugarland released its first three albums over a four-year span. Bush says that while Moroney's pace was encouraged by her record label, Sugarland was initially told by some that they were "moving way too fast" and might not pull it off.
"It just makes me want to scream," Nettles adds of the current situation that artists face, as an ever-changing business model that includes streaming revenues and catalog ownership impacts the industry. "Is (the new music) because the fans are demanding it or is that because the 'machine' now is based off revenue from catalog?"
"And so they want as much as they can as fast as they can," Bush interjects before simply admitting that he doesn't know the answer.
"So many things have changed, but what's cool to me is to have my finger on: What has not changed?" Bush says. "What stays exactly the same? Well, come to the show. You'll find out."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: As Sugarland announces 'Ride or Die' tour, the duo reflects on a pivotal era
