- Carly Pearce opens up about the inspiration behind her Hummingbird deluxe tracks, which dropped on Friday, March 14
- The “What He Didn’t Do” songstress, who’s playing Stagecoach in April, recalls performing at the festival in 2018
- The country star reveals her new project is coming sooner than you think
As Carly Pearce put it, where there’s no rain there’s no flowers — and she’s ready to share the final piece of her healing journey.
In 2024, the country star released Hummingbird, an album that represented healing after heartbreak, which she detailed in her 2021 album 29. Now, Pearce is ready to close that Hummingbird chapter with the deluxe release that serendipitously tied the albums together.
“‘Heart First’ and ‘If Looks Could Kill’ are actually two songs that I wrote during the writing for 29, and just didn’t make the album that I now feel are important songs to the story,” Pearce, 34, who’s playing the Stagecoach main stage in April, tells PEOPLE exclusively.
“But ‘No Rain’ was written two months ago, and it was actually written for my new album that I’m working on,” she continues.
Pearce typically isn’t the type to revisit songs because she writes “in the now — and if you don’t make the album, sorry, you’re done.” With “Heart First” and “If Looks Could Kill,” she kept finding her way back.
Big Machine Records
“They feel like this girl that was a part of the Hummingbird album. They feel like that girl in her early 30s wrestling with falling too fast for somebody and getting her heart demolished or seeing somebody that they loved move on and find their person and how hard that can be,” the “Still Blue” singer says.
These stories are true to Pearce’s experience with love in the past couple of years — and she felt that if she waited any longer to release them, they wouldn’t “be attached to who this next phase of my life is on my new project.”
Ultimately, these three songs — in addition to an acoustic rendition of “Oklahoma” and “Things I Don’t Chase” — mark the end of a chapter for Pearce.
“These songs feels like the right way to close this chapter and feel excited about what’s to come after a painful five years,” the “What He Didn’t Do” singer says.
She adds, “Not even just my divorce. I’ve had several relationships through the last five years that just haven’t worked out… I’m about to be 35 [and I’m] getting to a place of being OK with myself. I feel like you have to go through rain to see the flowers, as cheesy as that sounds, but that’s why.”
This didn’t happen overnight. After 29, it took Pearce “a lot of time to come back to music.” Now, she’s more inspired than ever.
“I feel really inspired and excited about creating new music. So you’re going to get this music way faster, I’m thinking probably by the end of the year,” she says, adding that the music is “flowing” out of her.
Until then, Pearce will be on the road for her Hummingbird tour, which wraps on May 16 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. On April 25, Pearce will return to Stagecoach Festival for the first time in eight years to perform on the main stage.
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“I’ve always wanted to come back because I played two very, very small shows at Stagecoach in 2018 when my career was … I think ‘Every Little Thing’ was the only thing that was out at the time,” she recalls.
She adds, “What I love about the festival and what I’ve had FOMO about over the last eight years is just that the culture is so special. From the clothing to the eclectic music bills each night, getting to play with all these artists that I love.”
For her set, Pearce promises to “keep the energy up” and music at the forefront.
“It’s really about the music. So I think just trying to bring the musicality and the stories and the songwriting to the forefront of what I do best,” she says, adding that her outfit will include “fringe.”
Hummingbird: No Rain, No Flowers is out now.
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