Martina McBride embraces soulful sound on latest concert tour

Martina McBride isn’t one to be boxed into a particular style of music.

Sure, the singer possesses a voice that helped define pop country over the past 20 years. She has four Female Vocalist of the Year awards from the Country Music Association to prove it — a number that puts her even with Reba McEntire and ahead of legends like Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton.

But for her latest album — and tour — McBride drops some of the southern twang and delves into R&B, blues and soul.

“I love to sing all styles of music,” says the crossover songstress, in advance of her “Everlasting” tour, which stops Sunday, July 12, at Visalia Fox Theatre.

The album, which was self-released last year, sees McBride putting her trademark vocals on 12 R&B classics, including the Supremes’ 1964 hit “Come See About Me,” and Van Morrison’s 1971 single “Wild Nights.”

Much like McBride’s 2005 country covers album “Timeless,” “Everlasting,” was mostly designed to be a fun project, she says. But the album, which features guest appearances by Gavin DeGraw and Kelly Clarkson, has done well. It debuted at No. 1 on SoundScan’s country album sales chart and was in the top 10 on Billboard’s Top 200.

For her next record, McBride will be working with Nash Icon, the new record label from Big Machine Label Group and Cumulus Media that is also home to Reba McEntire. The company announced the deal in December.

McBride can’t say much about the album other than it should be out in the next year or so.

“It’s still way too early,” she says.

In the mean time, McBride keeps with the spirit of the “Everlasting” album on her current tour.

She enlisted an 11-piece band with three backup singers, a four-piece horn section and many of the musicians who played on the album. Along with playing songs from “Everlasting,” the band brings new arrangements to some of McBride’s best known tunes like “Independence Day, “This One’s for the Girls” and “A Broken Wing.”

“It’s a throwback to the Motown revue,” McBride says.

This story was originally published July 9, 2015 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Martina McBride embraces soulful sound on latest concert tour."