Country star Martina McBride is currently traveling the country spreading positive energy through music on her Love Unleashed tour. Known for hits like “My Baby Loves Me” and “Independence Day,” McBride has won countless Country Music Association awards and has been nominated for 14 Grammys. On March 3, she comes to the Keswick Theatre singing throwbacks as well as songs from her newest album “Reckless.” McBride chats with us about putting family first, turning off the news and staying neutral politically. Country music has a conservative fan base, traditionally. In the current political climate, are you staying neutral or speaking out about your own views? You released your newest album “Reckless” in April of last year. What’s the most personal song for you? That’s beautiful. So how is touring now different than it was in the beginning of your career? It’s like you’re able to savor it more. So what are three things you can’t live without on tour these days? If you go:
On your website, you talk about the importance of people coming together through music to spread positivity. Why is that more important than ever right now?
The world we’re living in is kind of crazy and there’s 24/7 [news] coverage and it can get really overwhelming and negative — it’s not healthy. Last fall, I had to think, “How do I combat this for my own mental health and my daughters?” We started turning off the news and not getting on the internet as much. We started spending more time listening to music and replacing the negative with positive experiences. I wanted to do that for my fans, too — creating a space where we can come together and leave the world outside for a couple hours.
I don’t really feel like it’s my role. I’m here to create music and to make people feel things through that. I don’t really spent a lot of time thinking about what my fan base is politically. If I spent time thinking that, it really gets in the way of what I’m supposed to do — which is really to create this experience where people can escape for a minute.
Probably “Reckless.” It’s a song about unconditional love and gratitude for that. I’ve been married for almost 30 years so my husband, you know, has shown that to me and vice versa. So It’s about being loved when you’re not at your best — somebody who’s kind of reckless enough to love you anyway, no matter what.
I think I’m enjoying it even more. As you do this longer you get more relaxed and more comfortable on stage, and I’ve luckily got a long list of hits that we can play that people come to hear. I’m enjoying it a lot.
You put family first when your daughters were growing up and didn’t go hard with touring. Do you think that had an impact on your career?
I don’t know. I mean, we still toured. We just didn’t go out for big chunks of time. We just did it on the weekends and didn’t do as much stuff overseas. Maybe I could’ve had a flashier career or a bigger career in certain ways, but you know, I have three healthy, happy, well-adjusted kids and that’s really the most important thing. And plus you never know. There’s no way to really say if I do this and this and this, everything’s going to turn out a certain way. So it was just more important to me that my kids are healthy and happy. I think it’s actually contributed to the longevity of my career to not let things happen really quickly.
Good coffee, a humidifier and my dog, Mae. She’s a maltipoo.
Martina McBride
Mar. 3, 7 p.m.
$59.75-$79.75
Keswick Theatre
291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside
keswicktheatre.com
Martina McBride is turning off the news and turning up the music
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