Martina and Trace bring country contrasts to town

Country stars Trace Adkins and Martina McBride are a study in contrasts.

His voice is a deep, rumbling growl, while hers is a soaring soprano.

He is a big, strong guy with rugged good looks, while she is a pretty and petite lady.

He specializes in sexy country rock tunes like “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk,” while she is known for up-with-women ballads such as “Independence Day” and “This One’s for the Girls.”

Her marriage has survived years of celebrity, while he was shot through the heart by an ex-wife.

He almost won “The Celebrity Apprentice” and she didn’t. While she rides to the stage on a moon, and he doesn’t.

But country fans will get to see both at the World Arena on Thursday night, as Adkins and McBride join forces for the “Shine All Night Tour.”

What the two singers have in common are long and successful careers in the mainstream country machine.

Each has churned out 10 studio albums and a pile of hit singles. And neither is afraid to mix their country with a little pop and rock.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for her,” Adkins said by phone, as he drove to the gym. “She is, I think, the premier vocalist in country music. What’s not to love about her?”

Adkins said their managers cooked up the idea and he jumped at the chance to work with McBride.

“There certainly is a contrast there,” Adkins said. “So, hopefully, it’ll be a draw for people to have that diversity, and get a couple of completely different things off the menu. It’s worked so far.”

The same could be said of Adkins’ musical style: It’s worked so far.

He owns a hard-won authenticity that grounds his music and his appeal — Adkins worked as a pipe-fitter on an offshore oil rig before the music biz, he’s broken several of his limbs and his ribs in a car wreck, and he’s survived five daughters and three wives. Barely.

Before this holiday season tour, he was in the studio working on his 11th album. He said eight new songs are done, a new single will come out in spring, and the album will hit shelves in late summer.

Fans can expect Adkins to stay in the groove that’s been so successful. Unlike McBride and her virtuosic vocals, he relies more on attitude and a roughneck sense of humor.

“To steal a line from a Clint Eastwood movie, ‘A man’s got to know his limitations,’ and I think I know mine,” Adkins said.

TICKETS

Martina McBride and Trace Adkins
Where: World Arena, 3185 Venetucci Blvd.
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday
Tickets: $26.75-$56.75; ticketswest.com