What to expect with Cirque du Soleil's country themed 'Songblazers?' Here's a sneak peek

When Nashville musician Sweet Megg was performing at Station Inn recently, she never imagined the gig would land her a role in a new Cirque du Soleil production.

Turns out the casting team for "Songblazers," the new country music-themed Cirque production, needed a night off and decided to go to Station Inn just to hear some live music. They never imagined they'd find one of their leading ladies that night.

"I guess they had not cast my role yet, so they stumble on the Station Inn and watch my show," she recalled. "At the end of the show, this guy came up to me because I did a couple French songs. He's like, 'I never thought I would hear French music in Nashville.'

"The next morning I was in the Boston airport on my way to London in my sweatpants, just checking socials, and there's all these messages on Facebook and on Instagram and on my email saying, 'Hey, we're trying to reach Megg. We want you to be in the show.'"

She called her boyfriend and said, "I think I'm about to join Cirque du Soleil."

'This is our love song to country music'

The show idea was the brainchild of the Cirque du Soleil team and was brought to life by show director and writer Amy Tinkham in partnership with Universal Music Group Nashville, The process began nearly two years ago, and the result is a beautiful, playful, soulful journey through the history of country music, told through the eyes of songwriters, that features 29 performers, 13 musicians and five Nashville locals.

Tinkham has worked with Cirque du Soleil on multiple projects and was excited to create a concept to take to Universal.

"Not that country is only American, but in my mind, I was thinking I wished there was a more American expression of Cirque du Soleil, because Cirque shows are generally much more European in their expression," Tinkham told The Tennessean. "So when they came to me, I was like, 'I have to make this work.'"

Her goal from the beginning was to go deep into the beauty and historical significance of country music.

"It's been a beautiful journey of hard work and love to get us here," she said. "We feel like this is our love song to country music. When asked to be a part of this project, we took a very deep dive into all of the themes of diversity, love, heartbreak, hard work, good times, bad times, all of that connected with the tapestry of sound, heritage and storytelling that is country music."

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'We want people be prepared to sing along'

Because Universal Music Group Nashville was involved from the beginning, many of country music's most impactful original recordings are part of the production. Tinkham said the original wish list of songs was 200 deep.

During a recent media preview of one section of the show, songs included "Red Solo Cup" by the late Toby Keith set to a Cirque performer juggling — you guessed it — red Solo cups, and Shania Twain's "Man, I Feel Like a Woman" set to two incredibly strong acrobatic women twisting and twirling high above the stage with no safety net below. Expect lower Broadway-esque bar fights and signature Cirque twists like fiddles being played upside down while players hang from the rafters.

UMG Nashville CEO Cindy Mabe said she wants people to be prepared to sing along to these songs.

"It's one thing to hear someone else singing all of the songs, but having Shania in the middle of this and really using her (original recording) and really using Toby Keith, you're bringing them into the room," Mabe said. "You're bringing the party so the sing-along factor changes the entire dynamic. It's not just some karaoke track. It becomes these artists bringing you into the room to experience the same journeys that they have. Come prepared to have the experience."

Mabe said when Cirque first came to her with a concept, she had a very clear vision of what it should — and should not — be and was pleasantly surprised when the concept perfectly aligned with her parameters.

"It was almost like this God moment, or a gut punch," Mabe told The Tennessean. "They had already thought through so many things and were really protective of it. I know this may sound super corny, but I think with all the shows they've done, they've been a combination of music, circus, dance and the times we live in. I wanted you to walk away with a feeling of hope. A feeling of how I used to feel when I was young when I listened to songs or went and saw the circus. If I can bring that sense of wonder and innocence and nostalgia where things are so polarized, that's my deeper intention."

Sam Williams pens show's theme song

In addition to dozens of country favorites, the show's theme song is a new one by Sam Williams, grandson of Hank Williams and son of Hank Jr., called "Carnival Heart." Williams wrote the song with fellow songwriters P.J. Harding and Ned Houston and said the idea came from the joy of going to a small-town carnival or county fair.

Mabe describes the show as an "emotional ride" and says Williams' song taking you through the ups and downs of the ride showcases the depth and power of the story.

"The beauty of Sam Williams is having a grandfather that is the 'Hillbilly Shakespeare,'" she said. "You see it a little bit in the theme song. It's the magic and the sadness and all of those things are Sam Williams, but he wrote it for this based on the concept of what's happening with these two characters that take you through this journey through the entirety of country music."

Tinkham added that this show is their three chords and the truth.

"The characters' journey is a quest with great inspiration from the voices of the country," she said. "There are gorgeous acrobatics across the hillsides, the plains, the valleys — and the honky-tonks. It is a journey to that perfect song."

If you go

What: Cirque du Soleil "Songblazers"

When: July 2-28

Where: Tennessee Performing Arts Center

Tickets: cirquedusoleil.com/songblazers

Melonee Hurt covers music, music business and the performing arts at The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK — Tennessee. Reach Melonee at [email protected], on X @HurtMelonee or Instagram at @MelHurtWrites.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville gets Cirque du Soleil's country themed show debut in July