Margo Price
Margo Price is a hard-headed woman, and she won’t apologize for it.
The Nashville singer-songwriter holds the banner of classic country up high on her latest record, the aptly titled Hard Headed Woman, while issuing a rallying cry to the downtrodden, the underdog and any woman who has ever been called “too much.” Hard Headed Woman is something of a return to form for Price. After releasing her memoir Maybe We’ll Make It in 2022 and receiving massive critical acclaim for her 2023 album Strays, she’s returning to her roots with a new band, an old producer and a time-honored sound.
Hard Headed Woman reunites Price with Matt Ross-Spang, who produced her debut record Midwest Farmer’s Daughter nearly a decade ago. Their shared language is as easy to love as it is to understand, with toe-tapping rhythms, slow-burning storytelling and melodies to be savored rather than binged. It’s a record meant to be spun in full again and again, a countercultural move in a world of streaming singles and TikTok virality. Every note rings with heart and the inimitable imperfection of humanity, which Price says was the intention behind the record. This desire shaped the sound and production, and the decision to record and play with a new band.
“I really wanted to shine in this project with lyrical songwriting,” says Price. “My last band and I, we had grown together — we had grown musically. We had also grown apart musically. … We’d also been using a click track, sometimes even in our ears during live performances. And that was something that Matt Ross-Spang, my producer, really brought me back down to earth. He’s like, ‘You guys all have impeccable tempo and great time, we’re not going to use any click track.’ [And we] actually didn’t. There was no AutoTune. There was no click tracks. There was no smoke and mirrors. It was just like [making records decades ago when] people had to just be great. There was no cheating — some kind of shortcuts make something sound great on this app.”
The sonic blueprint and lyrical style of Hard Headed Woman are heavily inspired by the country songwriting titans of the 1960s and ’70s. Price cites Dolly Parton, Kris Kristofferson and Bob Dylan’s work of the era and Johnny Cash’s Bitter Tears as specific inspirations. Each reference speaks to the ethos that drives Price’s best work — a push for change, speaking truth to power, a reckoning with what makes us human, all while appealing to a salt-of-the-earth working-class audience. Price recorded the album at Nashville’s cornerstone RCA Studio A, her words echoing in the hallowed halls once inhabited by many of her classic country idols.
“Being in that space is just — it’s at the height of audio technology, truly,” says Price. “Nashville was at the forefront of where the best-sounding records were made. So it was really special to be able to spend the time and the money and do things the way that I wanted, and not have to rush anything because we were on a budget or a time crunch.”
The time and effort poured into the record shows up in the footprints it leaves behind. It’s already proven timely in ways no one imagined. On Sept. 16, Price performed the standout single “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! That was the last episode to air before Disney-owned network ABC suspended the show briefly amid backlash over Kimmel’s criticism of conservative politicians’ responses to the shooting death of Charlie Kirk.
The record includes collaborations with modern folk protest singer Jesse Welles (the dreamer’s anthem “Don’t Wake Me Up”) and genre stalwart and surprise viral sensation Tyler Childers (the crooning “Love Me Like You Used To”). With the album’s mix of ballads and barnburners and a piercingly stunning vocal performance, Price offers something to every country fan on Hard Headed Woman.
“I still wanted everything to feel really timeless, and hopefully, we can bridge some generational divides and and even political divides through this album,” she says. “Hopefully you could play it for your grandparents, but you could also play it for your kids and your friends. Country music is definitely something that a lot of people are listening to these days. And there should be all different sides of the spectrum and all different kinds of voices in country music.”
Country die-hards and new fans alike will have a chance to see Price live in action at the venerable Ryman on Thursday, Nov. 20. Country champ Logan Ledger, whom Price calls “my favorite singer in Nashville,” will open the show alongside Texas outfit Rattlesnake Milk. Ledger also plays guitar in Price’s band, which also includes guitarist Sean Thompson, fiddler Libby Weitnauer, bassist Alec Newnam and drummer Chris Gelb. Special guests have been teased, and to top it all off, Price plans to give away one of her signature Gibson J-45 guitars to a songwriter in the audience. Come hell or high water, Price makes sure any night with her music is one to remember.
