Maddie & Tae were so excited to be a part of the lineup for Carrie Underwood’s Cry Pretty Tour 360, the duo prepped for months to get ready to go on the road. When they saw the massive, intricate stage set up before the first leg of the tour, they were determined to put on a great show.

“I will never forget walking into see the stage for the first time – massive! It’s so much bigger than I thought, ‘cause when we were in the rehearsal space, we had kind of taped off where we thought the stage would be and how big it would be, and people had said, ‘This is the room, but it’s gonna be bigger!’ And my mind couldn’t even comprehend how big it was gonna be and how tall,” recalls Maddie & Tae’s Tae Dye. “So, seeing it for the first time lit up and see Carrie do her thing, it was really awesome. I think that moment just really kind of made it real for us. ‘Oh, we’re direct support. We have to step it up. We have to make sure that we put on a great show and get the crowd ready for Carrie.’”

The pair, who are making their way up the country charts with their song, “Die From a Broken Heart,” have a few dates on the books before starting the next leg of The Cry Pretty Tour 360 September 10th in San Diego. You can also catch the two at this year’s ACM Honors, taking place August 21st at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium..