Trisha Yearwood counts on fans

Tonight at Westbury, she'll sing songs they selected on her Web site

BY GLENN GAMBOA | glenn.gamboa@newsday.com

June 12, 2008

Trisha Country Music Awards - Rehearsal 2002

Trisha Yearwood rehearses for the 2002 Academy of Country Music Awards at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles on Tuesday, May 21, 2002. (Kevin Winter, Getty Images / June 11, 2008)

Trisha Yearwood has a lot to balance these days - her new ballad, "This Is Me You're Talking To," is climbing the charts; her cookbook, " Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen," hits the bestseller list; her tour; and, of course, her family with husband Garth Brooks. Calling from her home outside Tulsa, Okla., Yearwood said she's all about holding it together while still shaking things up.

Your album "Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love" was a different sound for you.

Yeah, I think that people expect the big ballads from me, and it's what I love. But I think it's also fun to show a different side. This album has a lot more up-tempo songs than is typical for me.

On your current tour, you've been letting your fans choose some of the songs you play through your Web site.

It's funny, I actually selfishly made this decision for me because we were doing the same 14 songs. I was, like, "We need to change this up." ... I figured it would probably be songs we already did, like "She's in Love with the Boy," you know, the usual suspects, and we get a lot of that. But a lot of the songs are a little left of center.

What else can people expect on this tour?

Well, we always have such a great audience at Westbury. It's one of my favorite places to play. I used to do about 200 dates a year, and now I do about 40, so now I'm very particular about those 40 and I only want to go back to those places that I enjoy playing. And hopefully those people who come to see us every time will get to see something different.

Do you like this pace better?

It's what works for me. Living in Oklahoma and being married to a guy with three girls who are all high school age, I can't be gone. It's important to be here because there's so much going on. I feel like I get to go and do what I love to do to feed my soul, and then I get to go home and the rest of the time do what feeds my spirit and my heart.

WHEN 8 tonight

WHERE Capital One Bank Theatre at Westbury, 960 Brush Hollow Rd., Westbury

TICKETS $42.50-$52.50 at Ticketmaster, 631-888-9000

INFO 516-334-0800