 |
The Highwomen | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Nashville, Tennessee, United States |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2019–present |
| Labels | Elektra |
| Members | |
| Website | thehighwomen |
The Highwomen is an American country music supergroup [1] [2] composed of Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires. [3] Formed in 2019, [4] the group's self-titled debut album was released on September 6 of the same year by Elektra Records and was produced by Dave Cobb. [1] [5]
In 2016, when Shires was finishing her record My Piece of Land in music producer Dave Cobb's studio, Shires had an idea to create a female country supergroup in homage to the legendary Highwaymen country supergroup (consisting of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson). At the same time, the lack of representation of women artists on country music radio and at country music festivals had been publicly discussed by many, influenced by the Me Too movement and journalists like Marissa Moss. While on tour in her van, listening to country radio, Shires kept a running list of artists and noticed that there were few women. When she called to request they play more women artists, she was directed to a Facebook page lottery system. Cobb recommended Shires call Carlile, whom she didn't know. Carlile thought it would be fun, and would be an interesting creative project. [4]
The Highwomen project was widely hinted at by Carlile, Morris and Shires before it was officially announced on April 6, 2019. With the name paying homage to The Highwaymen, the Highwomen were originally intended to leave the fourth spot in their line-up vacant to allow other female collaborators to join them, with Chely Wright, Courtney Marie Andrews, Margo Price, Janelle Monae and Sheryl Crow mentioned as potential guests. [6] The band, who jokingly refer to the collaboration as a pirate ship experience, said that they see the project as an incubator project that highlights mentorship and support of fellow women artists. [4]
Morris hadn't worked with Cobb before, and remarked on how much she liked tracking live. The band recorded live vocals, live band, harmonies in unison, where the musicians were recording together live in an organic environment at historic RCA Studio A, which Cobb now owns. [4] As part of the experience, some of the members got matching Highwomen tattoos. [7]
The group made their live debut on April 1, 2019 at Loretta Lynn's 87th birthday concert held at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. There, Natalie Hemby was officially revealed as the final member and the quartet performed "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels". [8] Their debut single, "Redesigning Women", and its associated music video featuring female artists including Tanya Tucker, Cam, Lauren Alaina, Cassadee Pope and Wynonna Judd was released on 19 July 2019, with their self-titled debut album (set for release on September 6) becoming available for pre-order on the same day. [9] The song was promoted by country singer Dierks Bentley who released a comedic reading of the lyrics to his YouTube Channel which received praise from Carlile and Morris. [10] Their second single, "Crowded Table", written by band member Hemby and Lori McKenna, was released on July 26, 2019. [11]
In July 2019, the Highwomen performed their first ever full live set at the 60th annual Newport Folk Festival, previewing songs from their upcoming album including "If She Ever Leaves Me", written by Shires, her husband Jason Isbell and Chris Thompkins. [12] With Carlile on lead vocals, Isbell described it as "the first gay country song" which elicited applause from the audience. Other songs performed included "My Only Child", an ode to "suburban moms" performed by Hemby who wrote the track with Shires and Miranda Lambert, "Loose Change", a nod to 70s country written by Morris, Daniel Layus of Augustana, and Maggie Chapman, featuring Morris on lead vocals and "Cocktail and a Song" which was written solely by Shires in honor of her father. Carlile later invited the rest of the Highwomen to join her during her headlining set where, as they originally intended, the group performed alongside other female artists including Amy Ray, Courtney Marie Andrews, Dolly Parton, Jade Bird, Judy Collins, Linda Perry, Lucy Dacus, Our Native Daughters, Sheryl Crow, The First Ladies of Bluegrass, and Yola Carter. [7] [13] [14] Shires said the plan was always to debut their music at Newport with Dolly Parton. The band wore custom suits by Manuel. [7]
Their cover of "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac from the soundtrack of the movie The Kitchen debuted during the film's first trailer and was officially released on August 2, 2019. [15] The title track of their self-titled debut album was released on August 13, 2019. Written by Carlile and Shires with Jimmy Webb, the original writer of "Highwayman", the track that originally inspired the Highwomen's formation, it tells the story of various women throughout history and features guest vocals from British country soul singer Yola Carter and backing vocals from Sheryl Crow. [16] The song is a classic answer song. [4]
The band recorded 15 songs, but only 12 tracks made it on the album. [4] Songwriters included the aforementioned Jimmy Webb, Rodney Clawson, Maggie Chapman, Lori McKenna, Jason Isbell, Peter Levin, Miranda Lambert, Ray LaMontagne, among many others. [17] Many of the songs flip gender roles, with additions of characters like refugee, preacher, Freedom Rider, and a healer, compared to the characters drawn by the Highwaymen songs. [18]
Following the release of their album, the band have infrequently performed together. In 2022, they performed "Somewhere Down The Road" at the Kennedy Center Honors in tribute to Amy Grant, who was one of the honorees. They also performed "Coal Miner's Daughter" during a tribute show on CMT following the death of Loretta Lynn, with Brittney Spencer standing in for Morris. [19] [20]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Sales | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [21] | US Cou. [22] | US Folk [23] | AUS Dig. [24] | CAN [25] | UK [26] | UK Country [27] | |||
| The Highwomen |
| 10 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 31 | 92 | 2 |
|
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Dig. [29] | US Cou. [22] | US AAA [30] | |||
| "Redesigning Women" | 2019 | — | 50 | — | The Highwomen |
| "Crowded Table" | — | — | 31 | ||
| "Highwomen" | — | — | — | ||
| "The Chain" (from The Kitchen ) | 46 | — [upper-alpha 1] | 28 | Non-album single | |
| "Hold On" (with Yola featuring Sheryl Crow) | 2020 | — | — | — | |
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Highway Unicorn" | 2021 | Brittney Spencer and Madeline Edwards | Born This Way The Tenth Anniversary |
| Title | Year |
|---|---|
| "Redesigning Women" | 2019 |
| "Crowded Table" | |
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Group of the Year | The Highwomen | Nominated |
| Americana Music Honors & Awards | Duo/Group of the Year | Won | ||
| Album of the Year | The Highwomen | Won | ||
| Song of the Year | "Crowded Table" | Won | ||
| CMT Awards | Group Video of the Year | Won | ||
| 2021 | Grammy Awards | Best Country Song | Won | |
| Academy of Country Music Awards | Group of the Year | The Highwomen | Nominated |
The Grammy Award for Best Country Song has been awarded since 1965. The award is given to the songwriter(s) of the song, not to the artist, except if the artist is also the songwriter.
Brandi Marie Carlile is an American singer-songwriter. Her music spans many genres, including folk rock, alternative country, Americana, and classic rock.
Lorraine McKenna is an American folk, Americana, and country music singer-songwriter. In 2016, she was nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year and won Best Country Song for co-writing the hit single "Girl Crush" performed by Little Big Town. In 2017, she again won Best Country Song at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards for writing "Humble and Kind" performed by Tim McGraw. McKenna along with Lady Gaga, Natalie Hemby and Hillary Lindsey wrote the second single off the soundtrack to the 2018 film A Star Is Born called "Always Remember Us This Way.” McKenna performed backing vocals along with Lindsey and Hemby, and the song received a nomination for Song of the Year at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.
"The Story" is a song released as a single by American folk rock singer Brandi Carlile, written by Phil Hanseroth, from her 2007 album The Story. It was featured in Grey's Anatomy in 2007 and is on Grey's Anatomy Soundtrack album 3.
Amanda Rose Shires is an American singer-songwriter and fiddle player. Shires has released seven solo albums starting in 2005, her most recent being Take It Like a Man in 2022. In 2019, she founded a country music supergroup called The Highwomen alongside Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris and Natalie Hemby and has also performed as a member of the Texas Playboys, Thrift Store Cowboys, and Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, as well as in a duo with Rod Picott. Along with Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Shires won the Grammy Award for Best Americana Album for their 2017 album The Nashville Sound.
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Natalie Nicole Hemby Wrucke is an American country music songwriter and singer. She has written songs for Lee Ann Womack, Eli Young Band, Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Sunny Sweeney, Little Big Town, Jon Pardi, Kacey Musgraves, Lauren Daigle, and Lady Gaga. In 2019, she joined the quartet The Highwomen alongside Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires and Maren Morris.
Dave Cobb is a 9 time Grammy Award Winning American record producer based in Nashville, Tennessee, best known for producing the work of Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, John Prine, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, The Highwomen and Rival Sons.
Maren Larae Morris is an American singer and songwriter. Rooted in the country genre, her music also blends elements of pop, R&B, and hip hop. Morris has won multiple accolades including a Grammy Award, an American Music Award and five Academy of Country Music Awards.
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Girl is the second studio album by American country music singer Maren Morris, released on March 8, 2019 through Columbia Nashville. It was preceded by the single "Girl". The promotional single "Common", featuring Brandi Carlile, was released alongside the album pre-order on February 8. The track was later nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, while the album's second single "The Bones" was nominated for Best Country Song at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. Morris embarked on the Girl: The World Tour in support of the album.
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The Highwomen is the debut studio album by country music supergroup the Highwomen, made up of band members Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires. It was released on September 6, 2019, by Elektra Records.
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In These Silent Days is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile, released via Low Country Sound/Elektra Records on October 1, 2021. The album received critical acclaim, and the lead single "Right on Time" garnered Carlile three Grammy Award nominations in 2022, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. The album earned Carlile seven more Grammy nominations in 2023, including Album of the Year and Best Americana Album, while the single "You and Me on the Rock" earned three nominations, including Record of the Year, and "Broken Horses" earned two nominations: Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song.
Brittney Spencer is an American country singer–songwriter. Spencer received notable attention following a viral Twitter video showing Spencer singing a cover of song by The Highwomen. The video drew praise from fellow country artists and prompted the release of her first extended play (EP) titled Compassion (2020). She has also released several singles, including 2021's "Sober & Skinny". Spencer has since performed on the Country Music Association Awards and has embarked on a world tour.
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