The Highwomen

The Highwomen are the rarest of country supergroups: a quartet who came together at the height of their popularity and creative powers, not when they were settling into their legacy. In that regard, the quartet of <a href="spotify:artist:2sG4zTOLvjKG1PSoOyf5Ej">Brandi Carlile</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6WY7D3jk8zTrHtmkqqo5GI">Maren Morris</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5yN0nwLpUCaZ2gr67bndCN">Amanda Shires</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:32opPqLCT3sF24Aso7wTXw">Natalie Hemby</a> differ from their knowing namesake <a href="spotify:artist:6e7QpHYqEiyJGiM98IysLa">the Highwaymen</a>, a band <a href="spotify:artist:5W5bDNCqJ1jbCgTxDD0Cb3">Willie Nelson</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6kACVPfCOnqzgfEF5ryl0x">Johnny Cash</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7wCjDgV6nqBsHguQXPAaIM">Waylon Jennings</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0vYQRW5LIDeYQOccTviQNX">Kris Kristofferson</a> formed in 1985, just as they started to drift down the charts. When the Highwomen appeared in 2019, every member of the quartet was at a peak in her respective roots niche. Singer/songwriter <a href="spotify:artist:2sG4zTOLvjKG1PSoOyf5Ej">Carlile</a> was fresh off winning three Grammy Awards and <a href="spotify:artist:6WY7D3jk8zTrHtmkqqo5GI">Morris</a> was at the vanguard of country-pop, while <a href="spotify:artist:5yN0nwLpUCaZ2gr67bndCN">Shires</a>' cult was growing thanks to the atmospheric Americana of To the Sunset and <a href="spotify:artist:32opPqLCT3sF24Aso7wTXw">Hemby</a>'s reputation as a country songwriter was at a peak, thanks to her contributions to <a href="spotify:artist:70kkdajctXSbqSMJbQO424">Kacey Musgraves</a>' Golden Hour and <a href="spotify:artist:66lH4jAE7pqPlOlzUKbwA0">Miranda Lambert</a>'s The Weight of These Wings.

The origins of the Highwomen lie with <a href="spotify:artist:5yN0nwLpUCaZ2gr67bndCN">Shires</a>, who noticed how few women she heard on country radio while she was on a cross-country tour. Producer Dave Cobb, who was working with <a href="spotify:artist:5yN0nwLpUCaZ2gr67bndCN">Shires</a> on To the Sunset, suggested <a href="spotify:artist:5yN0nwLpUCaZ2gr67bndCN">Shires</a> contact <a href="spotify:artist:2sG4zTOLvjKG1PSoOyf5Ej">Carlile</a>, who quickly agreed to form a group with the singer/songwriter. <a href="spotify:artist:6WY7D3jk8zTrHtmkqqo5GI">Morris</a> was the next to join. The trio initially hinted at the Highwomen in the press and social media during late 2018, with <a href="spotify:artist:5yN0nwLpUCaZ2gr67bndCN">Shires</a> making the band's name public during a radio interview in January 2019. <a href="spotify:artist:5yN0nwLpUCaZ2gr67bndCN">Shires</a> claimed the Highwomen was a play on <a href="spotify:artist:6e7QpHYqEiyJGiM98IysLa">the Highwaymen</a>, but the name was meant as "exalted, not stoned." The fourth member of the group was kept secret until the Highwomen played <a href="spotify:artist:1FE0rls8gfQT3laAeRYNgl">Loretta Lynn</a>'s 87th birthday concert at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. At the concert, <a href="spotify:artist:32opPqLCT3sF24Aso7wTXw">Hemby</a> was unveiled as the band's fourth member.

"Redesigning Women," the first single from the group's eponymous Cobb-produced debut album, arrived July 19, 2019, a week before the full quartet played their first full set at the Newport Folk Festival. <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Low+Country+Sound%22">Low Country Sound</a>/<a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Elektra%22">Elektra</a> released The Highwomen on September 6, 2019. Among the album's songs was a new version of "Highwaymen," which was revised with the assistance of its original author, <a href="spotify:artist:0YJUdunUDA1pTDxJ8AJlyB">Jimmy Webb</a>. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi