Carly Pearce on Her Tour Essentials, Year of the Cowgirl and Why Women Deserve to ‘Stand Up’ for Themselves (Exclusive)

Months after the release of her latest studio album hummingbird, Carly Pearce is relishing the moment.

Speaking to PEOPLE in light of Spotify’s newly launched Year of the Cowgirl destination, the “What You Didn’t Do” singer opened up about the impact female country singers are making on the genre, her forthcoming tour and simple joys.

“I feel like people have really grown with me in this chapter, and it feels so good,” Pearce, 34, says of hummingbird. “I took a long time to work on this album, and I really wanted people to feel like you can get through anything if you really put your mind to it and try really hard to believe that there’s more to life than whatever you’re going through.”

She adds, “I feel like people have been really receptive to that and needed that sentiment.”

These days, the “We Don’t Fight Anymore” singer feels “peaceful in knowing who I am and what matters to me.”

The journey wasn’t easy, she admits: It took “a lot of life experience and a lot of turning the mirror on myself and going to therapy and doing the work and wanting to dig myself out of the circumstances that I was in.”

On Wednesday, Aug. 7, Pearce performed at Spotify’s Year of the Cowgirl event, which also featured a DJ set by Brandi Cyrus and a performance by Carter Faith. Reflecting on the impact women are having in country music, Pearce says country music fans want to feel “empowered” and “understood.”

“The stories that a lot of the female country artists are singing speak to those subjects and they make people feel connected and empowered, like they can do anything,” she says. “I think that’s a really important thing no matter how old you are.”

Through the Year of the Cowgirl destination, country music lovers will have a place to turn to for all of their favorite female country artists, playlists, podcasts and audiobooks.

Up next, Pearce will embark on her hummingbird world tour, kicking off on Oct. 3 in the Canadian city of Windsor, Ontario. The tour will run through major cities in North America, Europe and the United Kingdom for over 40 dates before she wraps in Nashville. On select dates, she’ll be joined by Karley Scott Collins, Matt Lang, Wade Bowen and Faith.

“This is going to be my biggest tour yet, and Iwe’re just really leaning into what I’ve figured out over the last several years as far as who I am as an artist, what fans expect of me, how I can bring the show bigger and better than ever,” she says.

“There’s a lot of music and a lot of things that need to be celebrated that have happened over the last five years. I’m just excited to get to do it in the biggest way that I have so far,” she continues.

Her tour must-haves, she says, is “red wine, a good pair of running shoes, lots of lip gloss [and] my Shih Tzus, Johnny and June.”

“Having my dogs really helps me to feel at home and feel connected to my happy place,” she says. “I try to bring things from home that make me feel normal. I cook on the bus, I have photos and things that remind me of my life. I have really cute bedding. Just little things that make it not feel so isolated.”

On Friday, Aug. 2, Pearce made headlines after she briefly paused her set at We Fest in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota to remove an attendee from her performance, before revealing that the attendee was being “mean” and treating her with “disrespect.”

Reflecting on the situation, the “Oklahoma” singer says people should be “reprimanded for their actions.”

“You can’t be mean to people and expect people to tolerate it,” she says. “Especially as women, we’re conditioned to kind of just take it, and I want that stigma to go away because we deserve to be able to stand up for ourselves. People need to be nicer. I hope that people are nicer and maybe think a little before they speak.”