Little Big Town plays modern country pop with delicacy and emotion, but they know when to lay on a backbeat. You might hear a connection to the Dixie Chicks, but you’re just as likely to detect a kinship to Don Henley on the band’s latest.
In 2017 the quartet released “The Breaker,” its eighth studio album. The record includes the Taylor Swift-penned hit “Better Man,” not to be confused with the Pearl Jam song with the same title. Last year they also released a nicely layered live collaborative cover with Jimmy Webb of his masterpiece “Wichita Lineman,” made famous by Glen Campbell, who died last year. “Happy People,” the opening track on their recent record, is a cousin to Campbell’s uplift song of Christian piety “Less of Me.”
In addition to life-and-how-to-live-it songs, the band has a nice dreamy streak, as can be heard on their wide-open mellow ode to the vastness and sunshine of the West, “Lost In California.” They like to rock a bit, too, as shown on “Drivin’ Around,” a celebration of internal combustion, motion and killing time, that sounds like it could be a Queen song. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the group’s forming.
Little Big Town plays Mohegan Sun Arena, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd., Uncasville, on Friday, Feb. 23, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $39 to $79. 860-226-7711 and mohegansun.com.
