Sugarland @ Oxford ArtFactory, Sydney (19/3/08)

Wed 26th Mar, 2008 in Gig Reviews

Coming from the heartland of American country music and experiencing a trajectory that few musicians get to travel these days, Sugarland have galloped into Australia for some showcase gigs. Wednesday evening saw a large queue of fans outside The Oxford Art Factory in Darlinghurst, and I can’t say that many of them looked like the typical denizens of Oxford Street. Cowboy hats, calico bonnets, boots and all were on display this evening, along with the stray mullet.

Joining Sugarland on this evening were the dynamic McClymonts from Northern New South Wales. These three sisters put on a brief but punchy set filled with fabulous harmonies and some fairly steady strumming on guitar, mandolin and bass. Mollie, Samantha and Brooke were joined by a fiddle, bass and a drum and the voices and their youthful joy filled the stage and room. Decked out in a bit of country glam, the girls were appreciated aurally and visually by most of the audience. Nice to see some down home country music from the heart of Australia making it here. I am sure they will cross over to the American country scene at some point also.

Sugarland are definitely a force to be considered. The music can only be described as mainstream country, but they definitely do the genre justice. Jennifer Nettles has a voice and stage presence that could front a rock outfit, and Kristian Bush joins in on the harmony vocals. The solid band behind them kept the powerhouse going and the crowd was locked into the energy being displayed.

Sugarland developed within the Atlanta folk rock scene and were originally a core of three with Kristen Hall. Kristen left in 2006 to focus on her songwriting and it appears from that point on the rocket-powered and record company-backed Sugarland exploded across America. They have released two studio albums Twice The Speed Of Life and their most recent in 2006, entitled Enjoy The Ride. With sales of over four million copies in total, they are definitely enjoying this trip.

“One of the things I do each day when I lie in bed in the morning is to pinch myself and realize how amazing this journey is. We truly are blessed and realise how lucky we are, said Kristian. “When you set out to do something like this, there is no rule book. So it has been fantastic to talk to people such as Brooks and Dunn and see how they have traveled through the industry. It is a big help.”

The two releases are slightly different, with Twice The Speed Of Life leaning a bit more towards folk/country. Enjoy The Ride is right down the middle of the country road. If you like your country away from the ditch, you’ll love their music.

“The pre-meditated idea about the two records was to introduce Jennifer’s voice in different ways. We wanted to showcase her voice but not give it all away at once,” said Kristian.

Sugarland have performed with Bon Jovi on their country cross-over song Who Says You Can’t Go Home, which eventually went to the top of the charts. They also covered Beyonce’s Irreplaceable on a music award show and were joined on stage for the song by Beyonce. The version of this song at their show in Darlinghurst received a thunderous reception and it was played well.

But the song that hits the emotional strings, in a fairly manipulative way, is their recent single, Stay. This is a tour de force for Jennifer, and she gets totally into the performance. Surveying the throng of people, I was unsure if their attention matched that of a prayer meeting or a chick flick. Check out the song and you might get what I mean. Jennifer has the performance skills and the voice to keep Sugarland sitting at the top of the country charts for a while.

The outfit went on to finish this quick visit in Byron Bay for Bluefest, before heading back to the festivals and fairs in America’s heartland to play to their faithful and soon-to-be-newfound fans. With a new record out sometime soon in 2008, Sugarland are destined to be on top of the country charts for a while longer. Enjoy the ride…