Sugarland enjoys one sweet ride

By John Wenzel

The Denver Post

Listening to Kristian Bush talk about his band's upward trajectory inspires enough convincing, aw-shucks optimism to fill an arena-sized washtub.

And why shouldn't it? In a music industry pummeled by plunging CD sales and mutating business models, country-pop superstars Sugarland are a relative anomaly, a band that gathers awards and platinum discs by the armload.

"You have to take chances, musically, and you have to take them in your business," Bush said over the phone from Waikiki, Hawaii, fresh off a recent early-morning surfing lesson. "Everything we've done that was safe didn't work out."

While some might question whether Sugarland's rock- and pop-leaning songs take any real creative chances, it's undeniable that they have worked. Less than two weeks ago, the act won the Academy of Country Music Awards for single and song of the year for "Stay." The song is almost five minutes long and features just guitar, organ and singer Jennifer Nettles - a bit out of the norm for a country song.

The chart performance of Sugarland's two albums, 2004's "Twice the Speed of Life" and 2006's "Enjoy the Ride," reads like a how-to manual on radio domination.

That's especially impressive considering that founding songwriter Kristen Hall hastily left the Atlanta-based act in 2006. Now a duo composed of Bush and golden-voiced singer Nettles, Sugarland has continued its ascent by learning from its elders - and employing that experience on its own headlining tour. That tour includes a stop Friday at the Oceanfront for the Patriotic Festival.

"We've had some great leadership from people like Kenny (Chesney) and Brooks & Dunn and Brad Paisley," Bush said. "They've shown us that part of what you do is about sitting in your room and writing a song, but another part is standing in front of people and going through that emotion and sharing it with them. Jennifer and I both are interested in the value of an entertainment experience."

Indeed, Sugarland's headlining shows have taken cues from unlikely sources to ramp up the energy and spectacle. Recent shows have seen Bush and Nettles rolling atop the crowd in giant plastic hamster balls, a la indie rockers the Flaming Lips.

"I'm a big Flaming Lips fan, and I thought, 'Why not? Someone's gotta do it.' And you figure nobody in country music's ever seen anything like that."

The rock quotient also feels higher at recent Sugarland shows, thanks to the composition of Bush and Nettle's backing band, which includes members of Better Than Ezra, Train and Bush's former group, Billy Pilgrim.

"There's no reason that a lot of touring country musicians can't pick up where Van Halen left off," Bush said. "It's just that they don't want to."

Bush also pointed to Nashville's tradition of mentoring as one reason Sugarland has enjoyed Grammy, CMT and CMA award wins - including wresting the CMA Vocal Duo award from Brooks & Dunn in 2007 after that pair's 14-year domination.

"It's less torch-passing than a dramatic amount of encouragement. If I ever have a question I can call up Kenny Chesney or Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, and they'll talk to me," Bush said. "Competition is partly a construct of the awards."

Sugarland hopes to keep its momentum rolling, including a new single, "All I Want to Do," a new album dropping on July 22, "Love on the Inside," and its first overseas tour in the fall.