Little Big Town comes to Grant County Fair

MOSES LAKE - When Kimberly Schlapman and Karen Fairchild sang together at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., it lit a spark that would erupt into the band Little Big Town.

Tomorrow, the group performs at the Grant County Fair at 7 p.m. in the rodeo arena. Tickets are $20-$35 each. Admission to the fair is free on Tuesday.

Schlapman and Fairchild were in several campus music groups together before they both moved to Nashville to break into the music business. Over lunch, the pair brainstormed possible projects they could work on together.

"We eventually came up with the idea of two guys and two girls, which had never been done before in country music," says Schlapman.

Fairchild recruited friend Jimi Westbrook and as the group sang together, they liked what they heard. Still, there was something missing, says Schlapman.

"We loved that sound, but wanted a big ol' thick smoker's voice," she says.

After trying a few different singers, the trio landed upon Phillip Sweet.

"The first time we sang together, it had the exact sound we were looking for," she says. "And Phillip wasn't a smoker, but he sounded like he was," she added with a laugh.

Schlapman grew up singing with her family. Her father played mandolin and banjo and there was always a lot of bluegrass and country music playing at home.

"It's what I always wanted to do," she says. "I always wanted to be a country music singer."

All the band members grew up singing with their families, so harmony comes easily to them, says Schlapman.

"Harmony was just a part of our lives from as early as we can all remember," she says. "Now that we're all singing harmony together, it's just a perfect fit for us."

The band has no lead singer, a characteristic Schlapman says is unusual in country music.

"The no-lead-singer-idea was also very different for country, because all the bands in country had lead singers," she says. "So we kind of had to put our back up a little bit against some folks in Nashville who really wanted us to choose a lead singer ... Some people have called the harmony the lead singer. That's what's different about our band and I'm glad we held strong and stuck to our guns, because I think it's what makes us who we are."

While the band's goal was always to play country music, the band members grew up listening to all kinds of music, she says.

"I think our sound is kind of a melting pot of all different genres of music because we all grew up listening to different stuff," she says. "But our home is country music and that's where our roots are."

The band puts lots of energy into their live performances, says Schlapman, but usually calms things down halfway through for an unplugged acoustic set.

During the acoustic performance, the band offers more bluegrass-inspired tunes and plays selections from their online "Scattered Smothered and Covered" series, which puts a country twist on hits by musicians like Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars and Adele. Then the band ramps the energy back up and ends on a high note, she says.

"It's a great family show," she says. "And if someone is not so fond of what they think country music is, they should come give us a shot, because I think we may change their minds."

Part of the band's love of their live shows comes from getting fans to sing along, she says.

"It's so amazing when you sit in a room and write a song and you never know if it's ever going to see the light of day and then it gets on a record and it becomes a single and it becomes a big ol' hit song and then you have people in the audience that are screaming the lyrics back to you," she says. "It's just the most amazing reward and we feed off of that kind of energy. It's a dream come true to make music that people enjoy."

Schlapman invites fans to check out the band's website, www.littlebigtown.com or their twitter account at www.twitter.com/lbtmusic.