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Kimberly Perry unveiled the stops on her first-ever headlining tour as she attended the 2024 CMT Music Awards on Sunday (April 7). The singer-songwriter and The Band Perry alumna will lead the “CMT Next Women of Country Tour” kicking off later this year.
the lineup will include several of the members of the 2024 CMT Next Women of Country class, which spotlights some of the newest and most talented rising female artists of the genre. Perry announced that Tanner Adell, Madeline Merlo, Jenna Paulette, Abbey Cone and HunterGirl are confirmed to join the tour, with “additional couple of other beauties” announced at a later date. The 2024 class also includes Anne Wilson, Denitia, Ella Langley, Emily Ann Roberts, Karley Scott Collins, Kylie Frey, Lauren Watkins, Mae Estes, The Castellows, Tigirlily Gold and Twinnie.
Perry caught up with iHeartCountry on the CMT Music Awards red carpet in Austin, Texas. She beamed while talking about her inaugural headlining tour after releasing her first collections of solo music last year, including her 5-track EP, Bloom, which expanded to the 9-track project Superbloom months later. Perry’s debut as a solo artist was “If I Die Young Pt. 2,” reimagining and continuing the story of The Band Perry’s 2010 hit more than a decade later. Most recntly, she released a stunning rendition of “Hallelujah” in November.
“I’m really excited. I’m gonna miss my brothers (and The Band Perry partners), Reid and Neil, but we’ll be playing all The Band Perry songs at the show, and I’m getting to bring six other gals with me, so it’s gonna be a really, really, sweet tour,” Perry said. “It was just a dream come true (to learn she would headline the tour). I love CMT so hard. They’ve done such an amazing job bringing women together. I’m also mentoring the Next Women of Country class this year, which is a huge honor, so to get to also headline and bring some of these girls out, it’s just a dream come true, it really is.
“I think it means that I’ve had some hits and some misses, you know, I have some collected wisdom over the years and I’m more than happy to share and to really give back,” Perry continued when asked about what it means to her to be in a place in her career to help mentor others. “I feel like I had a few of those women — Faith Hill, Reba (McEntire) — early in my career, who were like, ‘just call us if you have questions. We’re here for you.’ So, I just wanna be that outlet for these female artists.”
Perry said the word of advice she would give to the Next Women of Country that she would tell her younger self is “just to pace yourself.” She said “it is a roller coaster of a life. There are times when you’re as high as you can possibly be, and there are times when you feel that dip in the roller coaster and you feel it in your stomach, just like a real, live roller coaster. but it’s really just about cruising on the ride and not getting lost in the middle of it all. It’s really just about the balance, keeping people around you that love you the most and know you the most, and one step at a time.”
The Bloom artist has entered into a new chapter of balancing her artistry and her family life in the last year. She and husband Johnny Costello welcomed Baby No. 1, son Whitaker James (Whit), in late August 2023. Perry gushed on the CMT Music Awards red carpet that her baby is already 7 and a half months old, and “I can’t believe it.” Motherhood has been “amazing,” she said, and she already told her son, “do not start walking before I get home” from Austin, Texas. Superbloom includes a track called “Monsters (Whit’s Lullaby),” which was “a really special one to write.”
Perry said she’s “OVER THE MOON” to announce the “CMT Next Women of Country” tour, which kicks off on August 15 in Birmingham, Alabama. Perry will “be playing everything off of Superbloom, all The Band Perry hits, and some of my deep cut favorites. Request line is officially open now. We’re gonna roll storyteller style, so get ready to hear all the things behind the things. We’re gonna roll storyteller style, so get ready to hear all the things behind the things.” tickets will be avaialbe on Friday (April 12). See the dates below.