Carly Pearce Unveils Story Of 'Haunting' Ballad With A Powerful Statement

Carly Pearce sought to tell a “haunting” story when she penned the song that became the title track of her fourth full-length album.

The award-winning artist teamed up with Shane McAnally, Nicolle Galyon and Jordan Reynolds to write “hummingbird,” one of 14-tracks on the record that made its highly-anticipated arrival in June. The album marked Pearce’s debut in a producing role, alongside McAnally and Josh Osborne. Pearce said in a previous interview with iHeartCountry that “they really understand me as an artist, and so, getting to go back into the studio this time around with them was just really awesome. We knew what we wanted to do.”

Pearce recently took the stage in a stunning red gown to perform “hummingbird” on the historic Ryman Auditorium stage in Downtown Nashville, Tennessee. It happened when she returned to host the ACM Honors for her fourth consecutive year, this time with “Next Thing You Know” artist Jordan Davis joining her. The show took place in August and aired in late September. Both hosts performed that evening, along with Lauren Alaina, Jason Aldean, Lee Ann Womack, Terri Clark, Jackson Dean, Kameron Marlowe, Eric Church, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Tyler Hubbard, Jamey Johnson, Ashley McBryde and Keith Urban.

“I grew up loving bluegrass music, and when I wrote this song, I really wanted to kind of honor that sound that has been so influential in my music. And we’re kind of bringing it to life in that way tonight in a really special way at the Ryman, so I’m excited for it,” Pearce told iHeartCountry on the 17th ACM Honors red carpet, which ran through Robert’s Western World, a historic honky tonk on Nashville’s Lower Broadway. “I loved Allison Krauss as a kid, and I wanted to write something that felt haunting like that. And I kind of wanted to write a very poetic lyric that…stood for, ‘I’m not gonna settle anymore.’ I’m not gonna look back, and I’m gonna keep going.”

The title track closes the powerful record, which also features “country music made me do it,” “truck on fire,” “we don’t fight anymore” with Chris Stapleton — which won the Collaborative Video of the Year award at the 2024 CMT Music Awards earlier this year — “my place,” “woman to woman,” “fault line” and more. Pearce said, in part, in the hours before hummingbird released that she hopes “you see that no matter where you’re at, you’re right on time Don’t let anybody tell you that just because you’re not living the ‘American dream’ or ‘society’s standards’ that anything’s wrong with you. It’s OK to not have it all figured out. You can still be happy through that, and I feel like what I have learned more than anything is that God gave me a really big story. A story that, if I’m honest, I don’t know that I really wanted. But I have owned it in the last three years, and I’m proud of it, and I’m proud of how far I’ve come, and I just can’t wait for you guys to hear hummingbird.”

Pearce also said she’s “so excited I get to come back,” to the Ryman Auditorium on her first-ever world tour, which kicks off this week.

The Grammy-winning artist previously announced the “hummingbird world tour,” which includes stops throughout the U.S., Canada, and U.K./Europe with Karley Scott Collins, Matt Lang, Wade Bowen and Carter Faith on select dates. Pearce said she’s “been working on the set and this album in particular just feels extra special, probably because I had such a big hand in it all the way around.” She looks forward to “the biggest tour I’ve ever done,” and “to get to turn the page.”

The first show on the “hummingbird tour” is set for Thursday (October 3), and the tour spans through mid-May 2025. Pearce spoke with iHeartCountry about her upcoming world tour on the 2024 People's Choice Country Awards red carpet last week, plus “one of the biggest announcements ever in my career,” — her new wine collaboration, arriving soon — and confirmed she’s “working on new music.” See the “hummingbird world tour” dates below.