Little Big Town

Fresh from their ACM award for Best Vocal Group, Phillip Sweet talks to James Daykin about the new album, ‘The Breaker’. About song choices, album titles and how the band decides who sings what!

- James Daykin

It seems like there is no stopping Little Big Town. This year has seen them release ‘brave’ new album, ‘The Breaker’ and has also seen them scoop the award for Best Vocal Group at the ACM awards. A sell out tour beckons, including a UK leg in late September, further cementing their status as ‘genre treasures’ – indeed, the first thing Karen and Kimberley did at the ACM awards on receiving the accolade was to shout from the stage that they wished they were in beaten nominee band, Lady Antebellum, a sweet and touching gesture from the magnanimous winners that further underlined how close knit and supportive the Country community can be.

“Man, that was a fun night,” chuckles Phillip Sweet, singer, songwriter and guitarist, “We still get very excited and a little bit nervous every time they call out our category. We feel fortunate to be nominated but it’s even cooler when they read out your name as winners. Lady Antebellum are our buddies. The cool thing about the ACM’s and about Nashville, really, is we root for each other. It’s great to see your friends win – their (Lady Antebellum) performance with the horns, you know, was incredible.”

Little Big Town released their eighth album, ‘The Breaker’, in March this year. A nostalgic, warm, slightly retro-infused affair reminiscent of bands like Fleetwood Mac. Following on from the success of ‘Painkiller’ which contained ‘song of the year’ ‘Girl Crush’ and ‘Wanderlust’ which was a more modern, experimental project the band completed with Pharrell Williams, ‘The Breaker’ can be seen as another piece of the jigsaw that is Little Big Town, a band never content to stay safe or complacent.