Trisha Yearwood Talks New Tour, Upcoming Album

Trisha Yearwood is hitting the road again, performing in theaters and smaller venues for the next two months.

The singer kicked off the tour, which she is calling the Just Because Tour, on Wednesday (Feb. 19), and she says the name is the perfect moniker for the cross-country trek.

“I don’t have an album out, nothing to promote and people are like, ‘Why are you going on tour?’ Because I want to,” she explains to Billboard magazine. “So that’s why I’m calling it the Just Because Tour. I’m not going out there to try to get somebody to play my record. I’m going to have fun and that’s coming, but for right now, these shows can just be about playing music and having a good time.”

The Georgia native plans on touring with her husband, Garth Brooks, this fall. But while she says she enjoys the energy from large crowds in arenas, she also appreciates playing before a smaller crowd.

“I love these intimate theater shows and I won’t get a chance to do [any] for a while so I thought, ‘You know what? I’ve got a little window here, I need to go do these for me,'" she explains.

In addition to her tour, Yearwood is also getting ready to film her fifth season of 'Trisha's Southern Kitchen' on the Food Network, as well as work on a new album. Her last record, 'Heaven, Heartache, and the Power of Love' was released in 2007.

"I’m listening to a lot of songs right now and I’m really loving what I’m hearing," she explains. "I think I needed to take a break to be able to listen with fresh ears because I’m hearing some really great stuff.  So I’m excited about going back in, but what I’ve learned is I really need to set aside a time to go, ‘This is the project and this getting is 100% of my attention’ rather than try to piece it in between everything else. That’s just not working well for me."

The 49-year-old says she hopes to have the new record out by the time she and her husband begin their tour.

"It might not be out this year, but my goal is to try and get it done by early summer," she tells People magazine. "I just put it on the back burner and it needs to be focused on."

Yearwood's tour will play in Michigan and Illinois later this month. See all of her upcoming shows here.