As Miranda Lambert cris-crosses the country on the Platinum tour this summer, she says she owes a debt of gratitude to Kenny Chesney for teaching her how to run a happy tour.
“When I was on the Kenny tour,” she remembers, “ his crowd and his crew and his everybody has his spirit, which is, ‘I love my job. I love what I do. This should be fun. This is entertainment.’ It’s just his great spirit and love of the beach and love of relaxing and having a margarita leaks throughout the entire camp, therefore throughout the entire tour to the person on the back row of the stadium, and that’s what’s important.”
Miranda believes having camaraderie with your opening acts also helps set the right mood.
“The people I’m taking on the tour this year are people I’ve been out with before. I’m kind of a creature of habit. I get real comfortable. Like, I was just with Dierks [Bentley] last year, and we’ve been on tour three or four times together,” she laughs. “It’s Justin Moore and Thomas Rhett. I love them to death. They’re both great guys.”
Ultimately, Miranda’s found that what goes on behind the scenes translates to what audiences see on the show.
“A lot of it’s about how it feels backstage, too, because as much as you say you leave it back there and don’t bring it on the stage, there’s a feeling about the whole package, the whole process and what it feels like,” she says. “And a tour can have a whole vibe. I think the crowd can feel that.”
This weekend, the Platinum tour swings through New York and Connecticut, before heading to Toronto next Thursday.
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