Jennifer Nettles is relaxed as she takes ‘That Girl’ on the road

How relaxed is Jennifer Nettles these days?

It’s 48 hours before her tour kickoff in Washington, D.C., the polar vortex is spewing another glob of snow in the mid-Atlantic, where her tour bus will soon be heading, and she’s currently driving through an icky rainstorm in Nashville, Tenn., while chatting about her first-ever solo tour.

But what, her, worry?

“I have other people worrying for me,” she said with a laugh.

Turns out, she was correct not to fret. Her “That Girl” tour — named after her album that bowed last month — launched on Feb. 14 as planned and has already worn down some tire tread before she pulls into the Fox Theatre on Saturday. (Critically adored singer-songwriter Brandy Clark opens.)

This is the first time that Nettles, a Douglas, Ga., native who moved from Atlanta to Nashville a couple of years ago, is touring without Sugarland partner Kristian Bush by her side. But she’s not worried about feeling isolated thanks to the four musicians — all multi-instrumentalists — joining her onstage.

Also, she noted, “I’ve been out promoting this album for several months and doing that alone. At the end of the day, my job is to sing, and I think for me what will be fun and different will be playing this music and this album and all of its different stylings.”

But don't fret, Sugarland fans. Much like Bush did at his own recent solo gig at Buckhead Theatre, Nettles is appeasing fans of the duo's country-pop hits by including several in the set list.

Still, this tour is about "That Girl" — which, incidentally, is in no way a reference to anything Marlo Thomas-related, a question Nettles said she's been amused to hear. The title track, a shuffling mélange of tom-toms and quietly picked guitar, was written with fellow Georgian Butch Walker and is one of many examples of Nettles stretching into an earthier soul-pop sound.

Also making the live cut so far are “This One’s For You,” a love song about love songs written with Sara Bareilles, and “Know You Wanna Know,” an infectious boogie-woogie rocker Nettles penned with Richard Marx.

The Nettles/Marx pairing was orchestrated by Bareilles, who toured with Sugarland a few years ago.

“Richard is so funny. His wit is so dry and cutting and hilarious, which is right up my alley. He’s supertalented and his writing credits are so far-reaching beyond what people think of him,” Nettles said of the early 1990s pop star who has, indeed, crafted hits for everyone from Luther Vandross to Josh Groban to Keith Urban.

Nettles relished the opportunity to work with different musicians as well as superproducer Rick Rubin, who helmed “That Girl” in his fabled Malibu, Calif., studio.

“I loved working with Rick,” Nettles said. “He’s superkind and warm and collaborative and really set up a safe environment to explore and experiment and try new things. … And it wasn’t too shabby to go to work every day and see the ocean.”

Nettles’ otherwise landlocked life hasn’t allowed her much time to get back to Atlanta, even though her sister and much of her “tribe” still live here. Still, she said, “I love it there so much. I know all of the shortcuts, and it’s so nice to have lived in a place that still feels like home.”

Much of that tribe will likely be in the Fox this weekend — as well as Magnus, Nettles’ 14-month-old son with husband Justin Miller.

While this will be the baby’s first tour, Nettles isn’t too worried about taking him on the road.

“He’s a little gypsy baby. He’s been to more places at 14 months than I probably was in my 30s,” she said with a laugh.

So now comes the inevitable question. With both Bush and Nettles single-tracking it this year, what does it mean for Sugarland?

“I’ve explained it as, I didn’t want to do a solo album out of a dislike for Sugarland. I love that project. Yet at the same time, I think it’s supereasy to stagnate and become a caricature of yourself artistically,” she said. “We’ve left it open-ended. When the time is right, we’ll have a lot to bring to the table.”

She and Bush keep up with each other online; Nettles praised some of the new songs that he debuts on "Music Mondays" on his website as "really great," while Bush told the AJC at a recent Grammy event that, "People discovering (Jennifer) this way is really cool."

But once Nettles’ planned run of dates ends in March, she’s looking at possibly another leg, maybe an international release. “It’s still a bit TBD,” she said.

And that’s just fine with her, too.

“It’s the first time in many years that I’ve been off the hamster wheel of tour/record/tour/record, and I’ve found really cool opportunities,” Nettles said, sounding again like someone quite relaxed about the future.