What I'm Listening To - "Girl Crush" by Little Big Town

I'm not what I'd consider a country "fan" per se.  I don't listen to country radio all that much, but I do have a few artists I enjoy.  The quartet Little Big Town is one such group.  In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that Little Big Town is my favorite artist currently recording music.  Sure, I may have more of an affinity for Billy Joel when looking at an entire artist's repertoire, but he stopped making new music decades ago.  Little Big Town, however, is still churning out albums and had their biggest success last year with the fantastic old school-styled "Girl Crush," a lovelorn single about a scorned woman pining to be her boyfriend's one and only once again.

The quartet has been touring this summer with Luke Bryan which disappointed me as I'm not a fan whatsoever and wasn't going to cough up the dough just to see them be a ten song opening act.  Fortunately, they took a little break from their summer gig to attend the Delaware State Fair on July 24 as a headliner and I was able to see a fantastic 20+ song setlist from the group who continues to fantastically harmonize onstage as the modern-day version of Fleetwood Mac (albeit with an obviously country tone).

Eschewing songs from their latest experimental album with Pharrell (with the exception of "Willpower" which was greeted less than enthusiastically by the fans), Little Big Town created a setlist that contained many of their hits, but also skewed heavily towards their most recent albums.  For the open air venue at the State Fair, the group went uptempo-heavy which I appreciated immensely, however, I missed some of the more intimate numbers that I've seen them perform at smaller venues in the past.  That being said, that's a minor quibble because the group sounds fantastic singing whatever they decide to do -- which included covers of Dolly Parton's "Jolene," Prince's "When Doves Cry," Alicia Keys' "Fallin'," and Fleetwood Mac's pulsing "The Chain."

There is no doubt in my mind that I'll be back to see them again.  Their live performances have never disappointed in the slightest and this concert that put them front and center was their best show I've seen yet (this was my fourth time seeing the group live).  Even if you think you're not a country fan, give this group a try.  They may just surprise you.

Little Big Town's biggest hit, "Girl Crush," can be found below.