Kimberly Perry is getting ready to embark on her first solo headlining tour – and she’s doing it with a baby.
Perry skyrocketed to stardom as the frontperson of the sibling country trio, The Band Perry. The Grammy-winning group had success with songs including “If I Die Young,” “Done,” “Post Card From Paris,” “Better Dig Two,” and more.
But, the band went its separate ways professionally in 2023, and Perry struck out on her own—preparing to launch her debut solo EP while pregnant with her and husband Johnny Costello’s first child. BLOOM, home to a reimagined version of “If I Die Young” called “If I Die Young Pt. 2,” came out in June of 2023, and baby Whit was born a few months later in August.
Now, firmly rooted in her not-no-new status as a solo singer and mom, Perry is ready to take Whit – and some of the most talented new female country singers–on the road.
Kimberly Perry’s Solo Headlining Tour Launches August 15
The “CMT Next Women of Country Presents: Kimberly Perry (of The Band Perry) Tour” will launch on August 15 in Birmingham, Alabama, and include 25 cities. Abbey Cone, HunterGirl, Jenna Paulette, Madeline Merlo, and Tanner Adell, all part of CMT’s Next Women of Country initiative, will provide tour support.
“I just have always loved how (CMT executive) Leslie Fram and CMT champion women every year,” Perry said. “When there’s a new class, it seems like the comradery is real. It hasn’t just felt like a press opportunity. It feels truthfully like we’re using these moments to really bond as women. So to get to do my first solo headlining tour in this way, I couldn’t have scripted it better.”
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The last time Perry went on tour was with the trio pre-pandemic. She explained it has been a while since she’s been able to “hole up on the bus and travel the country.” But she’s really excited to see familiar Band Perry fans and make new ones.
“I love touring because it genuinely feels like a family reunion every night for the amount of years that we’ve been touring at this point,” she said.
Perry’s headlining set will be a mix of Band Perry hits, her favorite Band Perry album cuts, and new songs from her BLOOM EPs. She’s still trying to decide if she wants to start with the early Band Perry songs and flow through the group’s pop phase into her solo material or if she wants to start at BLOOM and work backward. Either way, she knows it’s going to be epic.
“I texted the team, and I was like, ‘What happens if there are 30 songs on my current song list?’” she laughed. “They were like, ‘Respectfully, you should probably turn it down a little bit.’”
Kimberly Perry Enjoyed Singing With Her Brothers, Also Loves Being Solo
Her other challenge comes with navigating onstage interactions without her brothers.
“I have such a cool band, but at the same time, when it’s your brothers on stage, you just kind of grow up evolving together on stage,” she said. “That has been almost like the learning curve right now of being a solo artist. It’s how to fill up the stage in a different way than when there were just three people.”
Perry has enjoyed blending musical moments from The Band Perry with her solo songs, explaining the perspective was “really different.”
“I’ve really, really enjoyed both sides of it,” she said. “There are definitely moments that I have missed playing with my brothers because I did that for such a long time in my life. But I think the side of it I’ve enjoyed also as a solo artist is to sculpt specifically the narrative of it. I love to be a storyteller, and I’m not having to necessarily say that from three people’s perspective.”
But first, she has to get her baby on board. Perry is having a bunk in the tour bus retrofitted as a crib. She’s also trying to decide how much baby gear is essential on the road.
“I think I underestimated the logistics of moving a tiny human from one place to the other, especially with our nomadic lifestyle,” she said. “He has three suitcases, and Johnny and I share one now. At midnight, I find myself researching minimalist ways to travel with a tiny human.”
The proud mom believes baby Whit will love the tour bus.
“He sleeps really, really well,” she said. “He prefers to be napping in the car when we’re driving him around versus sitting still.”
Photo by Claire Schaper Courtesy 2b Entertainment
2024 “CMT Next Women of Country Tour Presents: Kimberly Perry” Dates:
August 15 – Birmingham, AL * – WorkPlay Soundstage
August 16 – Knoxville, TN * – Bijou Theatre
August 17 – Lexington, KY * – Manchester Music Hall
August 21 – Charlotte, NC + – Neighborhood Theatre
August 22 – Asheville, NC + – The Grey Eagle
August 23 – Atlanta, GA + – Buckhead Theatre
August 24 – Nashville, TN $^ – The Basement East
September 7 – Des Moines, IA ! – Wooly’s
September 8 – Minneapolis, MN ! – Fine Line
September 9 – Green Bay, WI! – Gather on Broadway
September 12 – Chicago, IL $ – Joe’s on Weed Street
September 13 – Ann Arbor, MI $ – The Ark
September 14 – Rootstown, OH $ – Dusty Armadillo
September 15 – Annapolis, MD $ – Rams Head On Stage
September 17 – Cambridge, MA $ – The Sinclair
September 19 – New York, NY $ – Gramercy Theatre
September 20 – Homer, NY $ – Center for the Arts of Homer
September 21 – Uncasville, CT – Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun Resort
October 2 – Denver, CO # – Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox
October 4 – Las Vegas, NV – Stoney’s Rockin’ Country
October 5 – San Juan Capistrano, CA # – The Coach House
October 8 – San Martin, CA # – Clos LaChance Winery
October 9 – Roseville, CA # – Goldfield Trading Post
October 10 – Bakersfield, CA # – The Nile Theater
October 12 – West Hollywood, CA # – Troubadour
Tanner Adell *
Jenna Paulette +
Madeline Merlo !
Abbey Cone $
HunterGirl ^
To be announced #
Photo credit: Claire Schaper
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