For our Explore Issue, we’re heading to the Boondocks.
For more than 25 years, Little Big Town has remained one of country music’s most beloved and enduring groups, a remarkable accomplishment in an industry where longevity is rare and harmony, both musically and personally, is even harder to sustain.
In May, Kimberly Schlapman and her fellow members of the eight-time ACM Award-winning group Little Big Town performed their new song, “Hey There Sunshine,” at the Academy of Country Music Awards, continuing a career built on heartfelt storytelling and songs that resonate across generations.
But beyond the stage, Kimberly’s own story is every bit as compelling as the music she helps create.
Ahead of her appearance in Phoenix at the World Parkinson Congress as part of AbbVie’s Changing the Tune on Parkinson’s Disease campaign, Kimberly sat down for a heartfelt conversation about motherhood, resilience, caregiving, life on the road, her rural roots, and the journey behind a remarkable career that has spanned more than two decades.
We have to start with your incredible Arizona connection.
“Oh, it’s a doozy,” Kimberly laughs. “This was back in 2007. We were on the road with Martina McBride and had about two and a half weeks left of tour. We had a show in Phoenix, and I was very, very, very pregnant.”
After the show, she climbed into her bunk on the bus.
“I wasn’t feeling well. I laid down and my water broke.”
Less than 24 hours later, Kimberly gave birth at Banner Estrella Hospital in Phoenix.
“So yes… my daughter Daisy was born in Phoenix.”
And because this is apparently the most country music story ever told, four days later they were back on the road.
“She loves telling people she’s from Phoenix. Arizona will always hold a special place in our family because of that.”
Little Big Town has been together over 25 years. Insane.
“It really doesn’t happen often,” Kimberly says. “Especially not with people who still genuinely love each other. That’s honestly the miracle.”
When Little Big Town formed, none of them imagined the life ahead.
“We were babies. We were just trying to make music and survive.”
Now they’ve spent more than two decades together.
“We’ve raised kids together on the road. We’ve gone through marriage, divorce, grief, loss, joy, career highs, career lows. We’ve lived life together. It’s truly like a marriage. Actually, it’s probably like four marriages.”
There were years sleeping in vans where success felt very far away.
“We used to drive ourselves everywhere. We loaded our own gear. We sold our own merch. We did all of it.”
And despite eventually becoming one of country music’s most successful groups, those early years still shape them.
“I think struggling together bonded us deeply,” she says.
Do you remember the moment you thought, ‘Okay… this might actually work?’
“I don’t know if there was one specific moment because we got dropped from our first record deal. We thought it was over.”
But instead of quitting, they stayed together.
“That says a lot right there,” she says. “Because honestly, most groups would’ve fallen apart. We just loved making music together too much.”
Who were your idols growing up?
“Oh gosh… The Judds. Dolly Parton. Reba. Alabama. Kenny Rogers.”
You’ve actually become friends with some of those people now.
“Absolutely surreal. There are moments where I still have to pinch myself. You’re trying to act normal on the outside while internally you’re completely freaking out.”
What was childhood really like growing up in rural Georgia?
“Simple, but magical.”
She grew up in a tiny North Georgia town surrounded by farms and family.
“We played outside constantly. My grandparents had chickens, cows, pigs. I grew up snapping green beans in the heat. Life revolved around church, food, storytelling, and music.
So ‘Boondocks’ is basically your autobiography?
“A thousand percent,” she says laughing. “That song is us. Everybody comes from somewhere. Everybody has roots.”
You’ve won Grammys, ACMs, CMAs… do those moments ever become normal?
“Never.”
Kimberly still remembers watching the Grammys as a little girl on a tiny TV as a kid.
“I used to dream about that world. I never understood how people even got there.”
What does backstage life actually look like?
"Before every show, the band and crew still gather in a circle backstage. We all put our hands together. Somebody says a prayer. If our spouses or kids are there, they join too.”
And then?
“There’s usually a shot of whiskey involved,” she says laughing.
Do you still get nervous before performing?
“Sometimes if it’s television. But it’s less fear and more adrenaline.”
How did adoption eventually enter your story?
“My husband looked at me one day and said, ‘Maybe we’re supposed to adopt.’”
Meanwhile, their daughter Daisy had started praying every night for a sibling.
“She asked Santa for a baby sister,” Kimberly says laughing. “And Santa Claus said, ‘Honey, I’m not sure even I can make that happen.’”
Weeks later, Dolly came home.
What kind of mom are you?
“Oh gosh… probably emotional. I try not to be a helicopter mama. I try to be fun. But I’m definitely a worrier.”
Motherhood, she says, remains the role she treasures most.
“It was always my dream.”
Your mother has lived with Parkinson’s disease for more than 21 years now.
“At first we knew almost nothing about Parkinson’s. My mother just had a slight tremor in her hand. Over time, the disease progressed. Parkinson’s affects the entire family.”
Eventually, Kimberly and her husband moved out of Nashville to be closer to her parents.
“We wanted to help care for my mother more.”
Now, her mother requires around-the-clock care.
“There’s grief in watching the roles change. You grieve for the mother you’ve known your whole life. But there’s also tremendous joy in giving back to her what she spent decades giving to us.”
What did your mother teach you that still stays with you today?
“She taught me everything I know about being a mama."
Even now, despite Parkinson’s, her mother still finds joy in the kitchen.
“If someone stands beside her, she’ll still make biscuits or tea cakes with us. That’s love to her.”
Your cookbook is called Oh Gussie. What does that actually mean?
“Well, it can mean, ‘Oh my stars, this is amazing,’ or it can mean, ‘Oh no, I just burned the biscuits,’” Kimberly laughs. “It all depends on how you say it.”
She explains that “Oh Gussie” was simply part of everyday life growing up in North Georgia.
“I didn’t know it was anything special until I moved to Nashville and people were like, ‘Wait… what did you just say?’”
Your love of cooking seems deeply tied to family and childhood.
“My mama and both of my grandmothers were incredible cooks. I grew up sitting on a stool next to the counter just watching them.”
She remembers learning family secrets in the kitchen.
“How to tweak a recipe just enough to make it perfect. How to know when biscuits were ready without even setting a timer. Those are things passed down through generations.”
What’s your favorite recipe in the cookbook?
“The chicken and dumplings. That’s my mama’s recipe. There’s also a fresh glazed apple cake that means so much to me emotionally.”
Growing up in apple country in North Georgia, Kimberly says her grandmother always kept cakes in the freezer for her grandchildren.
“When I came home from college, she’d let me pick whichever cake I wanted to take back with me,” she says. “And I always picked the apple cake.”
What do you hope people remember about Little Big Town someday?
“I hope our music told their story. I hope people made our songs their own and that our music helped them through different seasons of life.”
And what do you hope people remember about Kimberly Schlapman?
“My daddy always told me, ‘Don’t ever forget where you come from.’ Also, you never know what somebody is going through behind closed doors,” she says. “So give people grace.”
instagram.com/ohgussie
Through the AbbVie campaign, Kimberly is helping raise awareness and empower people living with Parkinson’s and their loved ones to advocate for their care, ask questions, and explore treatment plans that best meet their individual needs: changingthetuneofpd.com
Listen to the full, unfiltered conversation with Kimberly on the Now with Nadine podcast streaming everywhere.