Grab your history books and some big-ass Sharpies, because it needs to be marked: 2019 is the year of The Highwomen. “Supergroup” isn’t a strong enough word to describe what Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris and Amanda Shires have done with their new project, which has led to a slew of inspiring performances and a fantastic new self-titled LP, recorded at RCA Studio A. The members have referred to the project as a movement, and they aren’t wrong.
The Highwomen loosely modeled themselves on The Highwaymen, another country supergroup, which consisted of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings. The project showcases both the members’ individual strengths and the ways those can be increased by being deliberate and inclusive. The Highwomen bring together an array of women’s voices for some of the best country vocal performances of the past several years, while putting women’s narratives front and center.
The album also includes “If She Ever Leaves Me,” one of the first widely distributed country songs to discuss a same-sex relationship with same-sex pronouns, in the achingly gorgeous and plainspoken language of the best in the genre. It’s sung by Carlile, the only non-Nashvillian of the core group, who’s here enough that we’ll give her honorary-local status. The lyric is by Shires, her husband Jason Isbell and fellow songwriter Chris Tompkins, and it’s written from the point of view of a woman who sees a man eyeing her partner from across the room: “If she ever leaves, it’s gonna be for a woman with more time / Who’s not afraid to let her dreams come true / If she ever gives her careful heart to somebody new / Well, it won’t be for a cowboy like you.”
At a time where conversations surrounding gender equity and diversity in country music have reached a fever pitch, listening to The Highwomen feels radical and cathartic. And the fact that their album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart with practically zero radio airplay is some pretty sweet icing on a well-deserved cake. BRITTNEY McKENNA
