Wide Neck Acoustic Guitar

Little Big Town raises the roof in New York City

01.01.70

They stood shoulder to shoulder on the Irving Plaza stage — four singers, one with an acoustic guitar slung around his neck. They’d each had a turn in the spotlight, and they’d all been careful not to upstage their partners. They’d stormed through their upbeat numbers and country radio hits, and delighted the crowd with a faithful version of Fleetwood Mac’s "The Chain."

Then the small backing combo left the stage, and Little Big Town delivered the hushed "Can’t Go Back" in the tight four-part harmonies of an elite church group.

Country music thrives on personality. Little Big Town, an exercise in country-pop democracy that is finally finding a mass audience, has plenty of that. But the long-running Alabama band, which comes to Atlantic City Friday, has always chosen to emphasize the interdependence of its members. All of its songs feature intricate vocal harmony arrangements. Often, all four voices will be going at once, with giddy Kimberly Schlapman taking the high part, commanding Karen Fairchild singing alto, and the cheerful Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook filling out the bottom end.

Source: The Star-Ledger - NJ.com