Country singer sounds giddy like a schoolgirl when you ask her about having appear on her months-old album 鈥淗ummingbird.鈥
鈥淥h my gosh, Chris Stapleton is one of my favorite artists ever and one of the greatest singers of all time, I believe,鈥 she gushed during a phone interview last month. 鈥淛ust to be able to have a song with him.鈥
But when it came time to make the ask, the 鈥淓very Little Thing鈥 singer reached out to Stapleton鈥檚 wife Morgane on Instagram.
鈥淚 wanted it to feel authentic and I knew the best way to get to him is to probably go through the wife, who makes all the decisions,鈥 said the 34-year-old Pearce, who brings her band and new album to Fox Tucson Theatre on Thursday, Oct. 10.
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Stapleton duets on the ballad 鈥淲e Don鈥檛 Fight Anymore,鈥 one of 13 songs Pearce wrote with collaborators including Nicolle Galyon and Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, who co-produced the album with Pearce.
The album comes three years after 2021鈥檚 鈥29: Written in Stone,鈥 which chronicled the fallout and pain of her divorce from fellow country star , whom she married in late 2019 and divorced eight months later.
鈥淗ummingbird鈥 is the coming-out-on-the-other side record, she said.
鈥淭his is my healing journey of coming back into my own skin and finding myself again after a really devastating period of time,鈥 she said. 鈥淛ust kind of trying to show people that if you do the work, you can come back out on the other side and come back stronger.鈥
Country singer Carly Pearce brings her 鈥淗ummingbird鈥 tour to Fox Tucson Theatre on Thursday, Oct. 10.
The album also is an homage of sorts to Pearce鈥檚 love of 1990s country, which is the generation that first attracted her to the genre.
She puts a contemporary face on neo-trad country; fiddle is prominent throughout the 14 tracks, from the title song with its soaring harmonies to the classic scorned-woman-gets-even cautionary tale of 鈥淭ruck on Fire.鈥
鈥淟iar, liar, truck on fire/Flames rolling off of your Goodyear tires/Burn, burn, you鈥檙e gonna learn/Never should鈥檝e put your lips on her.鈥
鈥淪till Blue鈥 and 鈥淗eels Over Head鈥 are songs that her contemporaries will wish they had recorded, while 鈥淐ountry Music Made Me Do It鈥 sums up her adult life: 鈥淐ountry music made me do it/and I鈥檒l do it 鈥榯il I die.鈥
Her concert here Thursday comes after she spent August playing arenas with Tim McGraw鈥檚 鈥淪tanding Room Only Tour.鈥 It was the first time she had gotten to tour with a 1990s country artist.
Pearce said it鈥檚 easy to forget that McGraw, who is still selling out arenas and recording, started his career in 1990.
鈥淲e just had a really good time,鈥 she said. 鈥淕ot to know Faith (Hill, McGraw鈥檚 wife) a little bit. They were such a joy to be around.鈥
But Pearce admitted she is glad to take her headlining tour to smaller venues like Tucson鈥檚 Fox Theatre.
鈥淢y music lives best in a smaller space,鈥 she said. 鈥淢y songs are based on the storyteller. I really get to do that and the musicality of my records really come to life in a theater setting.鈥
Country newcomer s opens the show at 7:30 p.m. at the Fox, 17 W. Congress St. Tickets are $20-$82.50 through .
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com.
On Twitter @Starburch
Cathalena E. Burch
Reporter
