Miranda Lambert Perseveres Through Final Bandwagon Tour Stop With Little Big Town
Miranda Lambert's final Bandwagon Tour stop with Little Big Town came Saturday (Aug. 25) — just one day after the headline-making star revealed she was "happily single" in an interview. She had been dating Turnpike Troubadours frontman Evan Felker — a complicated relationship that put the superstar in the middle of Felker's divorce proceedings.
Fans who arrived at Chicago's Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre on Saturday were still surprised, however, to find signs telling them that opening act "Turnpike Troubadours will not perform tonight due to unforeseen circumstances."
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It was anyone's guess which version of Lambert might appear that night, but the best one showed up — the true-to-brand, feisty, but sweet songstress who was ready to put any challenges behind her after sharing them in song.
"How the hell are you, Chicago?" Lambert asked, strutting onto the stage in fringe sleeves, tan boots and full of attitude. "Good Lord, it’s hot in here. That’s good though — that means we can drink more alcohol!"
From there, Lambert delivered the autobiographical “Heart Like Mine” and the always-emotional “Over You” and “The House That Built Me,” before turning up the heat on songs like “Gunpowder and Lead” and “Mama’s Broken Heart,” which featured a tellingly long glare into the crowd on the "never let ‘em see you cry" lyric.
“When I get on stage — every single time I walk on stage — my goal is to make you feel everything I can possible make you feel before you leave the building," Lambert told the crowd before performing “Tin Man," during which she put extra emphasis on the line: "Love is so damn hard."
"Because that’s what music is, and that’s what music does. And I use this every day of my life," she said, "To heal me, and to get me through some shit. And that’s what this song did for me."
The rest of the show was an explosion of hit after hit alongside Little Big Town, with the two headliners doing joint collaborations of "Girl Crush" and the Dixie Chicks “Goodbye Earl," in addition to Lambert's "White Liar" and an a capella singalong of "Lean on Me," which closed the show.
And for the first time all night, Lambert put her head on Schlapman's shoulder and shed a few tears.
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