Never let it be said that Miranda Lambert does not play well with others.
Especially when they’re her “best friends” in Little Big Town.
Lambert is a queen of country music in many ways – the reigning Academy of Country Music Artist of the Year, among many other honors. She’s also a collaboration queen, whether it’s last year’s Grammy-nominated “The Marfa Tapes” with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall or monster hits with Jason Aldean (“Drowns the Whiskey”) and Elle King (“Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home).” This year, meanwhile, Lambert returned to touring with LBT, resuming their successful 2018 Bandwagon Tour with a two-act rehearsal dubbed “2.0.” .
Both bands are capable of making high-caliber, hit-filled headlines on their own — which they delivered on Friday night, June 3 at the Pine Knob Music Theater. After a hard-hitting set by the Cadillac Three, each celebrated well-cemented careers and spotlighted new tunes – Lambert’s latest album, “Palomino,” from which she played four songs, and LBT’s new single “Hell Yeah.” .
But the undisputed highlight of the evening came when LBT and his band joined Lambert onstage, jamming the Pine Knob stage with 16 musicians who spent around 40 minutes swapping songs and covering a few covers to the delight of the audience. a sold-out crowd. The summer season is young, but the team is sure to be among the highlights of the venue’s 50th anniversary season.
The combination began in dramatic fashion, with all four LBT singers joining Lambert to provide harmonies at the end of the solemn “Tin Man”. And then off to the races as the troupe worked on LBT’s “Better Man” and Lambert’s “Music City Queen” (a collaboration with the B-52s on “Palomino”) followed by “Boondocks” and “Wine , Beer, Whiskey.” A propulsive version of Lambert’s “White Liar” was paired with LBT’s “Little White Church” and was followed by a sprint through Lambert’s “Little Red Wagon”, while “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” closed the main set. and skillfully captured how Pine Knob crowd members felt.
The encores, meanwhile, were sweet but magical as Lambert and LBT paid an unspoken tribute to the late Naomi Judd by covering Judd’s “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days)” with a stripped-down version accompanied only by the music. acoustics by Phillip Sweet. guitar. The show ended with The Beatles’ “Let It Be,” sending streaming country fans back to the parking lot still singing the iconic rock hit.
The Bandwagon Tour is clearly a winning proposition for everyone involved – the clearly exuberant fans and artists. So it was heartwarming for his promise to LBT’s Karen Fairchild that, “It won’t be the end, I can tell you that. We’re having too much fun! Rest assured that over 15,000 people at Pine Knob have accepted
