2011 Sugarland tour a ‘victory lap’

Sugarland’s “The Incredible Machine Tour” is back for a second time — and performing Saturday at Intrust Bank Arena.

In 2010, the country duo of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush hit the road months before the album that gives the tour its name was released. That disc is now a platinum-seller, and Sugarland is taking it out on tour again.

“This year, we kind of get the victory lap,” guitarist/singer Bush said in a recent phone interview. “The excitement of a rock show can happen two ways — playing songs you don’t know and, ‘Oh, my gosh, I know all these songs.’ Last year was the first, this year is the second.”

Touring an album before it is released is a throwback to the ’60s and ’70s when bands were constantly road-testing new material. In Sugarland’s case, the new material that makes up “The Incredible Machine” was designed to be played on tour.

“The logic of it is pretty simple,” Bush said. “What’s great about this new record is, even when people haven’t heard it, the songs are pretty anthemic and easy to connect with. They were written to be played in arenas, auditoriums and amphitheaters.

“The gist of what we do as songwriters and recording artists, and especially having the joy of doing them live, our job is to communicate with as many people as we can,” he said.

Creating songs for arenas doesn’t take place in the studio.

“It happens when you write the song,” Bush said. “When we went to arena rock shows as kids, there were some songs that really worked. It can’t be based on four or five guitar parts at the same time. You’ll never hear them all.”

It took awhile, Bush said, to figure out how to make songs that connect with an audience, fit arenas and still work musically. He learned from producer Hugh Padgham, who’s worked with the likes of the Police, Phil Collins and Elton John — and from trial and error in the studio.

Not only were the songs written and recorded with arenas in mind, the show was put together to most effectively bring those songs — and Sugarland — to the audience. Those who caught the first version of “The Incredible Machine Tour” won’t have to worry about getting a note-for-note repeat if they come back, Bush said.

“The show’s changed a little bit,” he said. “The set and staging haven’t changed. But the set list has shifted around a great deal. We played about half the record last year. We’re playing most of the record this year.”

The show is generally about 20 songs, with more than a third coming from the new album. Three songs from “The Incredible Machine” — “Stuck Like Glue,” “Little Miss” and “Tonight” — already have been hits.

They join another dozen Sugarland songs that have made the country Top 20, five of which hit No. 1.

Those hits and the touring success have turned Sugarland into one of the top country groups.

Some have taken Sugarland to task for its pop/rock sound, calling “The Incredible Machine” a rock album rather than a country disc.

Bush doesn’t quibble about the record having rock elements. But he said the labels really don’t mean much to him.

“A lot of that is institutional, it’s how the industry works,” he said. “But it’s country music. The beautiful thing about the genre is it contains so many colors.”

If You Go

SUGARLAND

What: Country music duo Sugarland in concert with Sara Bareilles

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Where: Intrust Bank Arena, 500 E. Waterman

How much: Tickets are $40.50 and $56, available at selectaseat.com or by calling 316-755-7328.

This story was originally published October 6, 2011 at 3:18 PM with the headline "2011 Sugarland tour a ‘victory lap’."