It’s been six years since Sugarland took some time off, and while fans certainly missed the duo, they don’t regret their hiatus.
“I think creatively we were always leaders in the format," Jennifer Nettles tells “Rolling Stone, "but where I saw us going and where the format was at the time, what I didn't want to happen was for us to take a dive – creatively or in the industry.” She adds, “It felt like a good time to pause and get new juice in ourselves. … But we always left that door open so we could walk back in."
Since going their separate ways, Jennifer says she’s seen country music embrace some of the things they experimented with years ago. “Radio now is a much wider lane," Nettles says. "I think before, we were playing in a wider lane, and because of that sometimes we would get outside of the margins in a way that pushed people.” She notes, “I mean, we tried to rap on 'Stuck Like Glue' and everybody was like 'What? Rap?' And now it's like 'Sam Hunt! Rap!'"
The duo is still hard at work on their new album, but will hit the road in May for their Still The Same Tour
"There are some people who it's gonna be a complete discovery for, depending on their age," Jennifer says. "I chuckle when I read somebody on Twitter say, 'Y'all were my first concert and I was seven years old.'... I'm like, 'Oh my god! How long have we been gone?'"