Michelle Branch and Jessica Harp, a.k.a the Wreckers, have been a ubiquitous live presence this year, opening for the likes of Dierks Bentley, the Dixie Chicks and Rascal Flatts.

What does Branch get from performing with all of these people? "It definitely puts you more in the writing mood," she says. "There's a girl named Miranda Lambert who is a great songwriter. I think she might even be a year younger than me. We always watch her shows and go, 'Oh, I wish I would've written that song.'"

Beyond inspiration, Branch says she and Harp are gaining ideas for future tours. "We were playing with Dierks Bentley and we started to think, 'When and if we headline, what are we going to do as far as decorating a set, lights, stuff like that?'" she says.

If Branch seems as though she's getting ahead of herself, she's encouraged by how well the shows have gone thus far. "When we first started going on the road no one was singing along," she says. "Now people are singing along. Things like that really make your day."

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