Sugarland Shares the "Love" with Kellie Pickler, Ashton Shepherd in Bossier City

By Douglas Boultinghouse

High off their wins for "Single of the Year" and "Vocal Duo of the Year" at the 42^nd Annual Country Music Association Awards, the dynamic duo Sugarland ended their "Love on the Inside Tour" in Bossier City, La. Nov. 16.

The duo's Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush brought fan favorites Kellie Pickler and Ashton Shepherd along to open the show at the Centurytel Center.

Shepherd took the stage first performing her hits "Sounds So Good" and "Taking Off This Pain."

While her feel-good country songs entertained the crowd, her finest moment came when she slowed down for an acoustic, powerful ballad titled "Old Memory."

Pickler followed soon after, opening her set with her new single "Best Days of Your Life."

Country music's sweetheart performed several songs from her self-titled sophomore album, as well as from her debut album "Small Town Girl."

During the song "Makin' Me Fall in Love," Shepherd and various crew members pulled a prank on Pickler. They walked onto the stage in a line holding pictures for Pickler to sign. As she signed them, while still singing in perfect key, the pranksters tossed the pictures into the audience to the fans.

Pickler soared through energetic performances of "Don't You Know You're Beautiful," "Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind," "Rocks Instead of Rice" and "Red High Heels."

Mid-way through her set, she sat on a stool and belted out the heartbreaking song "I Wonder," a song she wrote about growing up without the mother who ran out on her as a child.

Once through, she received a well-deserved standing ovation.

Pickler proves to be one of those rare gems in country music. The more you watch her, the more you love her. Her down-to-earth personality remains untouched by fame and she sings with such conviction. When she sings, she sings from her heart and the audience takes notice.

After what seemed like an hour-long intermission, the arena became dark and lighted umbrellas opened on the stage.

Nettles and Bush, known as Sugarland, walked onto the stage and started the show with a spine-tingling performance of their inspirational, mid-tempo track "Love."

Unbelievable performances came one right after the other as the pair went through hits that consisted of: "Baby Girl," "Settlin'," "Want To," "All I Wanna Do," "Already Gone," "Everyday America" and more.

Nettles and Bush fill their shows with energy. They continuously jump around the stage interacting with the fans as they perform. The only times they remain still are during pivotal moments of the show. During those moments, prepare to be amazed.

The moment of all moments came when one single spotlight illuminated the duo. Nettles sang and Bush played the guitar. Nettles performed "Stay," the award-winning song that has taken the country by storm for two years straight.

The entire arena accompanied the duo and sang along, ending the performance with thunderous applause.

The phrase "Save the best for last" comes to mind when describing a Sugarland show.

For an encore performance, the duo climbed inside enormous inflatable balls and rolled atop the audience on the floor and back to the stage.

Once on the stage, Shepherd and Pickler joined them to deliver an all-star, comical performance of "Love Shack."

Nettles donned a blonde afro, Bush wore a baseball cap, Pickler sported hot pink pigtails and Shepherd appeared in a bright blue wig.

For the last show of the tour, the gang went out with a bang, enjoying themselves and the crowd until the very last second.

All four artists remained on stage briefly to autograph various items thrown their way.