Martina McBride and fellow hitmaker and country legend George Strait have been going at it together on the road for their 2012 tour, hitting arenas across the country. And while McBride enjoys playing to the packed-out venues that can fit thousands upon thousands of fans, she has a little something different up her sleeve for this spring: a more intimate theater tour that she’ll be doing all on her own.

“I’m going back out in April for my own tour,” the songstress tells Access Atlanta. “I’m excited. It’s easier, well, not necessarily easier, but I’m looking forward to doing a more intimate show and slowing things down.” McBride is on the Grammy nominee list this year for Best Country Solo Performance for her tear-jerking ballad ‘I’m Gonna Love You Through It,’ from her Oct. 2011 record ‘Eleven.’

Speaking about her current tour with Strait, McBride says she thinks the two draw such an audience because they both bring the same thing, which is “A lot of hits.” She suggests, “a lot of songs that people know. And you know, longevity. We’ve both been at it a long time and [for fans] it’s comfortable and exciting to come and hear that many songs that you know. Even for me, watching his set, I hear all of these songs that take me back to so many places in my life.”

But McBride is especially excited about one opportunity the theater tour will afford her — the chance to play some of her less up-tempo numbers that haven’t been able to make it into the arena setting. “It is hard,” she says of the big venues, “and the ballads are the first to go, unfortunately. But in an arena, you want to keep the pace going. In a smaller venue you can take your time. But I’m doing some songs from the new album and the classics. It’s a mix of what I think people want to hear from the old stuff and the new songs.”

McBride has yet to announce the tour dates and locations for her spring tour, but details are expected to come soon.

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