FAYETTEVILLE Happy ‘Town’

FAYETTEVILLE — If the members of Little Big Town sound a little bit happier on their most recent album, “The Reason Why,” there is a reason for it.

It’s because they are happier, says guitarist and vocalist Phillip Sweet by phone from Los Angeles, where he and his bandmates were recording appearances on “The Talk,” “Conan” and the “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.” After that West Coast trek, Little Big Town will arrive in Fayetteville, where the group will perform on Tuesday night as part of the Washington Regional Foundation Gala.

Little Big Town formed in the late 1990s, and it later became as much an emotional support network as a band.

When Little Big Town started, all of the members were in relationships. But Kimberly Schlapman’s husband died in 2005, and other members of the group - Sweet, Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook - were all single at the same time, too. All of those changes came as the band was hopping among record labels.

Now, four years later, the group has found a new label, and all of the members have found new love. In the case of two members, it happened within the band, when Fairchild and Westbrook were married in 2006. Sweet, an Arkansas native, got married in 2007. Schlapman got married in late 2006. Each of the members has welcomed a baby since that tumultuous time in 2005 as well.

The songs, like the title track, reflect that sense of happiness, Sweet says.

“We’re just really proud of this record,” he says. “We did some things that we hadn’t tried before.”

Specifically, the band took abreak from a constant touring schedule and put effort into this recording, Sweet says.

They recorded again with cowriter and producer Wayne Kirkpatrick, but the approach was different this time, Sweet says. They wrote in differentcombinations of members than they had in the past, and no tactic was left untried - they even moved furniture around in the studio to give it a different feel.

And they recorded a few types of songs that they’ve never tried before. Sweet points to “Runaway Train,” with its soul and sass, and what he calls the “stonecold country” in some of the traditional-sounding songs.

There is also an energy inthe recording, Sweet says.

With a little time off from the road, the group was able to approach the recording “with a renewed vigor,” he says.

“We all felt that there was a freshness for us. Everything started coming together … We took a little bit of a break, and then felt the itch to get back on the road.”

Everything did come together for the band in terms of sales figures. “The Reason Why” debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and No. 1 on the Billboard Country chart.

And, as promised, the group promptly went back to the road. Little Big Town will break away from its current tour with Sugarland for Tuesday’s appearance in Fayetteville.

As is the case with the band’s recorded material, the group will rely on its harmony in the live setting. Little Big Town travels with just three other musicians: a drummer, a bass guitarist and a multiinstrumentalist. Westbrook and Sweet also play guitar.

“It’s a skeletal sound, but it leaves room for the vocals,” Sweet says.

And those are just a little happier these days.

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FAQ

Washington Regional Foundation Gala Featuring Little Big Town

WHEN - 7:30 p.m. Tuesday

WHERE - Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville

COST - $45-$75

INFO - 443-5600 or

www.waltonartscenter.org