Sugarland Bio

Sugarland originally started as a trio of three successful country artists when Jennifer Nettles was invited to sing with Kristian Bush on guitar and songwriter Kristen Hall. Kristian is the lead guitarist and provides background vocals and even plays the mandolin. He had achieved some notoriety as one half of the music duo in Billy Pilgrim. Singing in local venues, Jennifer had achieved some success in the Jennifer Nettles Band, and Hall had also enjoyed some acclaim as a songwriter.

Sugarland was formed when Nettles and Bush got together with Kristen Hall and wrote down a list of goals. They decided they were really going to go for it and become country music superstars. They began crafting lyrics and songs and learning to play together and eventually started playing local venues.

The audience immediately reacted to Sugarland and they received a very welcome reaction from day one. By just their fourth gig they were packing in thousands of fans, and a record label wasn’t far behind. Mercury Nashville Records signed Sugarland in 2004 and the band immediately made good with the release of their first single “Baby Girl.” The single was of their first album “Twice the Speed of Life,” which would go multi-platinum, selling 2 million albums. One of the albums best singles, and one of my favorites, “Baby Girl” set the record for longest appearance on the Billboard Hot Country songs.

Other singles include “Something More,” “Jut Might (Make Me Believe)” and “Down in Mississippi (Up to No Good).” Jon Bon Jovi gave Sugarland a boost when he performed a duet with Jennifer of their single “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” on Country Music Television. Sugarland earned a Grammy nomination for Best new Artists and several CMT Music Awards, including Video of the Year, Breakthrough Video of the Year and Collaborative Video of the year. Around this time, Hall decided to leave the band to concentrate on writing.

In 2006 all the country music fans got another treat when Sugarland released their second album “Enjoy the Ride” which became another multi-platinum hit. Both electric singles “Want To” and “Settlin’” reached Number One, and other hits like “Everyday in America” and “Stay” are loved by fans. The album helped the duo win the the Country Music Association’s Duo of the Year Award in 2007.

“Love on the Inside” was Sugarland’s long-awaited third album. The duo returned home to Atlanta to record the album, laying tracks at the legendary Southern Tracks Studio. The album’s first single, the fun and lighthearted “All I Want to Do” was an instant classic and just one more Sugarland hit to reach Number One. The following single was “Already Gone”, which became their fourth #1 hit in January 2009. Their 3rd single from Love on the Inside “It Happens” was released in February 2009 and hit #1 status in May 2009.

Sugarland embarked on the Love on the Inside tour from September 2008 until November 2008 with 25 stops along the way throughout the U.S. Their Love on the Inside album and tour were obviously a success, because the following December they received nominations for Top Vocal Duo and Vocal Event of the Year from the Academy of Country Music for their song “Life in a Northern Town”. They brought home the gold for Vocal Duo of the Year award and Nettles also won a Milestone award. It had become clear at this point that Sugarland was not just some ‘new band’ in the country genre – they were making a name for themselves and becoming a country musicon legend.

Sugarland crossed overseas in March 2009 with their tour through Europe, performing at military stations in Italy, and cities all over France, the Netherlands, Scotland, Ireland, England and Germany. Not only did they embark on their own tour, but Sugarland also joined huge country stars Keith Urban and Kenny Chesney in 2009 on their Escape Together World and Sun City Carnival tours, respectively. The success just kept coming in for Sugarland in May 2009 when they received five CMT Award nominations including Video of the Year, and won Video Duo of the Year.

The Incredible Machine was released on October 19, 2010 with Mercury Nashville Records. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart and reached Platinum status by the RIAA in its first week. “Stuck Like Glue” was their first hit single off the album, peaking at number 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. “Stuck Like Glue” is catchy, twangy, and fun. Described by Nettles and Bush as “steampunk movement”, The Incredible Machine is one of their most unique albums, with the content based on an imagined world where technology was stuck in Victorian times while humans continued to evolve intellectually.

Now that Sugarland is set to go on The Incredible Machine tour all throughout spring and summer of 2011 and have a larger fan base than ever before, you can expect that the venues will be filled and tickets sold out. Sugarland tickets are growing increasingly popular with every release they make. The Incredible Machine is just that – incredible – so you can imagine their tour is going to be off the charts. Get your Sugarland tickets so you can see them when they come to a city near you this spring and summer!

If you have the opportunity to see Jenn and Kristian live, you definitely don’t want to pass it up.

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