{"id":2442522,"date":"2026-06-03T01:38:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T01:38:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2442522"},"modified":"2026-06-03T01:38:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T01:38:49","slug":"the-highwomen-talk-new-album-playing-live-again-and-lady-balls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/the-highwomen-talk-new-album-playing-live-again-and-lady-balls\/","title":{"rendered":"The Highwomen Talk New Album, Playing Live Again, and ‘Lady Balls’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\tIn the seven years since the release of the Highwomen<\/a>\u2019s self-titled debut LP, the quartet of Brandi Carlile<\/a>, Natalie Hemby<\/a>, Maren Morris<\/a>, and Amanda Shires<\/a> have lived enough life to fill endless classic country songs: babies born and others grown, divorces filed and finalized, pandemics weathered. They\u2019ve won Grammys and released eight solo albums. They\u2019ve lost loved ones.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAnd a uterus!\u201d quips Natalie Hemby, sitting in the green room between rehearsals with her bandmates. Only a group like the Highwomen, filled with artists insistent on sharing women\u2019s stories in a genre where beer, truck, and fishing<\/a> songs by men rule country radio playlists, could kick things off with a joke about a hysterectomy.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s the Thursday before the Highwomen are set to take the stage as part of Carlile\u2019s Echoes Through the Canyon run at the Gorge in Washington state, and the champagne (alongside pre-champagne IV hydration) is already flowing. This is the first time the band has reunited to perform since their last show at this same venue in 2023, which they just released as a digital-only live album. Their custom Nudie suits are pressed, their kids are in tow and, according to Shires, they\u2019ll be playing under a full moon.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cShires is going to be howling at it,\u201d Carlile says. \u201cI guarantee you that.\u201d Shires doesn\u2019t argue.<\/p>\n

\n\tThings have changed for the Highwomen, but they\u2019ve changed for the genre, too. In the years since the band came together to challenge country radio\u2019s persistent gender imbalance, there has been some significant headway. Ella Langely has been breaking numerous records<\/a> with \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas,\u201d and both Lainey Wilson and Megan Moroney have dominated award shows, album sales, and, at times, the airwaves. Collaboration, not competition \u2014 a core tenant of the Highwomen\u2019s philosophy \u2014 is rampant. Women are producing one another\u2019s records, writing together, and fighting to make space for many when the default is one, or even none.\u00a0 Even Miranda Lambert and Kacey Musgraves have buried the hatchet<\/a>. The Highwomen may not have persuaded radio programmers to add their songs into rotation, but their mission has permeated deeply.<\/p>\n

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\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n

\n\tDespite all that success, the outlook at country radio is still far too dismal. This week, there are only two songs by women in the Mediabase Top 20 for country airplay. Queer voices are rare, while trans artists and Black women are almost nonexistent. These days, though, the Highwomen are less concerned about radio and more optimistic about the power of community when it comes to country music<\/a>. When they take the stage a few days later, they\u2019ll be joined by a group that spans genres and generations: Bonnie Raitt, Wynonna Judd, Sheryl Crow, Allison Russell, Linda Perry, and Brittney Spencer, and even their own kids during \u201cOnly Child.\u201d Creating a crowded table is always part of the mix.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThere\u2019s no shortage of talent, just shortage of opportunities,\u201d says Shires, who came up with the idea for the Highwomen after an ill-fated call to a country radio station<\/a>, asking them to play more women. \u201cDo you want to be up there in your lonely castle, or have a bunch of friends?\u201d<\/p>\n

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