by Michael Bialas

Created on: August 12, 2009   Last Updated: August 13, 2009

The on-again, off-again Sugarland tour is back on again, and all hands are keeping their fingers crossed that Jennifer Nettles' voice holds up for the rest of the summer.

As the better half of what even Oprah has called country music's new dynamic duo, Nettles has been dealing with vocal strain since January and was under doctor's orders to take a break. So co-leader Kristian Bush and the other five touring members were left twiddling their thumbs when five shows in July were canceled.

Sugarland has been trying to do damage control ever since, while missing high-profile dates as the opening act for http://www.KeithUrban.net Keith Urban in Los Angeles and Phoenix. They resumed their tour in the Great Northwest this past weekend and are expected to team up with Urban again when the "Escape Together World Tour" moves to Little Rock, Arkansas, on August 6.

If you were among the thousands of disappointed fans that missed these accomplished performers, or are just wondering what all the fuss is about, you're in luck this week. The Sugarland express is coming at ya.

Their first network TV special aired Monday, August 3 on ABC (8 p.m. EDT), setting up the next day's release of Live On The Inside, a CD/DVD set that will be sold "exclusively" at Wal-Mart and walmart.com. (Copies are showing up on amazon.com, though.) Retail price is $12.

Nothing ever quite compares to seeing the real thing, but the DVD, shot October 25, 2008, at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, might come close. Twenty cameras capture all the visually stunning action (including slow motion) from all angles and most of the hits by the Grammy-winning artists, who have sold almost 7 million records since signing with Mercury Nashville in 2004. The hard-working twosome has been constantly on the road, promoting their third album Love On The Inside, which was released just over a year ago.

The one-hour TV special on ABC was essentially a shortened version of the DVD, so if you like what you saw and heard from the Country Music Association's Vocal Duo of the Year, a trip to the nearest Supercenter should be on your to-do list.

The 10-song CD takes listeners to other stops on the tour, including Atlanta, Austin, Texas, and Minneapolis, where their cover of the B-52s' "Love Shack" is a special treat. And speaking of covers, Bush, the man behind the mandolin who's usually heard singing harmony, takes over lead vocals and stands out on "The One I Love." It's one of two R.E.M. songs on each format as Sugarland

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