Band finds its place in country music

The band will open up for Brooks & amp; Dunn on Saturday at Post-Gazette Pavilion.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
If nothing else, Sugarland is a band that knows its place.
Never mind that the heavily pop-flavored country troupe from Atlanta has a double-platinum-selling debut album and an unlikely alliance with a certain rock outfit out of New Jersey.
Sugarland is still opening arena shows for such acts as Kenny Chesney -- as guitarist-songwriter-harmony vocalist Kristian Bush terms it, the "While You-Get-Your-Beer Act." They'll open for Brooks & amp; Dunn Saturday at Post-Gazette Pavilion near Pittsburgh.
Sugarland shouldn't feel too starved for attention, though. Since its October 2004 release, the group's self-titled debut album has chalked up three monster hits of country confection: "Baby Girl," "Something More" and "Just Might [Make Me Believe]."
And if you've heard a familiar voice mixing things up of late with an even more poppish sound on the radio, that's Sugarland lead vocalist Jennifer Nettles collaborating with veteran rockers Bon Jovi on the hit "Who Says You Can't Go Home."
"I'm not sure about this, but I don't think there has been a heavy-metal hair band that has ever had a Top 10 hit on country radio," Bush said. "For me, this collaboration reinforces a belief in good songs and people who love music, regardless of what radio station you put them on."
Taking a chance
Given the openly poppish attitude surrounding Sugarland's music and the similarly modern flair of the Bon Jovi collaboration, one has to wonder: Where in the world has the country gone in its tunes? That was also a concern to Bush when he, Nettles and writer-singer Kristen Hall began writing as a trio in 2002.
"We were really nervous that people in country music wouldn't like what we were doing when we first brought our songs to Nashville," he said. "The lines we were getting were, 'Well, this is fun, but we're afraid it's not really country.'
"But the guys at Mercury [specifically, label CEO Luke Lewis] took a big chance on us. So we were like, 'Well, OK. Let's do this.' Because this is fun music. I think that's where the crossover appeal has come from."
Sugarland's mounting stardom did come with a price, however. In late January, Hall left the group, having had enough of the increasingly hectic touring schedule.
"Right now, Kristen is home trying to detox from going on the road for something like 200 shows in a row," Bush said. "But we are all still friends. This was a just a life choice that people have to make at certain times.
"Change happens no matter what you do. How you handle that change really determines how successful you're going to be in whatever business you're in. Or in life. Through these changes, we have been able to keep creating. And that, to me, is just really exciting."
ACM Awards
Adding to that excitement was the recent ACM Awards in Las Vegas, where Sugarland won for top new duo or vocal group. They were nominated in four other categories.
Not a bad scenario, especially given that when Sugarland was drafted into singing "Baby Girl" at last year's ACM ceremony, where it originally was scheduled to be a presenter, the band was essentially unknown.
"When you're onstage, you really can't see past the first 15 or 20 rows," Bush said. "But, of course, that's exactly where they put all the famous people at awards shows. We had no idea what we were doing. There's no way to prepare for that. Nobody even knew who we were.
"But, as they say, what a difference a year makes."