Maddie & Tae Talk About Being Women In Country Music Today Ahead of the ACM Awards

Maddie & Tae pose for a few pictures backstage at the 2016 ACM Party for a Cause Festival on Friday (April 1) in Las Vegas.

The girls — Maddie Marlow and Tae Dye — hit the stage for a fun performance alongside Lauren Alaina and Kelsea Ballerini.

“When we started trying to develop our message, we wanted authenticity,” Tae shared with Teen Vogue, speaking about being a woman in country music today. “We want people to listen to our music and whatever the song may be about, we want them to know that we relate to the song in some way. At the end of the day we’re all experiencing the same emotions, whether you’re a 12-year-old girl or a 40-year-old woman.”

Maddie added, “I don’t think we knew how deeply we can connect through one song. There’s something so precious and powerful about that that we don’t take for granted. There are those songs that hit you in the gut – when you’re the one performing it and you see the effect it has on people, there’s something so powerful in that.”

10+ pics inside of Maddie & Tae…