Little Big Town

Little Big Town’s lush sound—seamlessly melding catchy pop and modern country with elements of the genre’s traditional, earthy roots—relies on harmony. The group’s flawlessly synced four-part harmonies set them apart from other artists populating country radio and built them a reputation as a kind of down-home Fleetwood Mac, with all members—Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook—switching up lead vocal duties as well. Little Big Town were founded in the late ‘90s when Fairchild and Schlapman, who had previously attended Alabama’s Samford University together, reunited in Nashville. After bringing Sweet and Westbrook on board to fill out their sound, they spent most of the 2000s gaining modest success with singles like “Boondocks,” which celebrated their rural upbringings with tough-sounding country, and the more breezy, romantic “Bring It On Home.” But it was the lake-ready “Pontoon” and dreamy, retro-tinged “Girl Crush” that turned them into a household name by the middle of the decade. In 2020, they released Nightfall, which expanded on their capacity for lyrical nuance, tackling topics like honesty in relationships (“Sugar Coat”), and pushing their sound into previously unexplored territory, including horn-blasted rave-ups (“Wine, Beer, Whiskey”)—all in perfect harmony.