The Highwomen

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The Highwomen are an American country music supergroup formed in 2019 in Nashville. The members are Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires. The idea started when Shires noticed there were few women on country radio and at festivals, and with the help of producer Dave Cobb she recruited Carlile. They later invited Morris and Hemby to join, creating a group that nods to The Highwaymen, a famous 1980s male supergroup.

They see The Highwomen as a way to mentor and support other women artists, and they even kept a fourth spot in the lineup open for guest collaborators. They recorded live vocals and harmonies at RCA Studio A, aiming for an organic sound, and some members got matching Highwomen tattoos.

Their first live show was on April 1, 2019, at Loretta Lynn’s 87th birthday concert in Nashville, where Hemby was revealed as the final member. The debut single, Redesigning Women, came out July 19, 2019, with a music video featuring many female country artists. Their self-titled debut album followed on September 6, 2019, produced by Dave Cobb and released on Elektra Records. A second single, Crowded Table, was released July 26, 2019.

In July 2019 they performed a full set at the Newport Folk Festival, previewing songs from the album. The set included If She Ever Leaves Me, My Only Child, Loose Change and Cocktail and a Song. The title track Highwomen, written with Jimmy Webb and featuring guest vocals by Yola Carter and backing vocals by Sheryl Crow, was released on August 13, 2019. They also released a cover of The Chain by Fleetwood Mac for The Kitchen trailer on August 2, 2019.

The album contains 12 tracks (out of 15 recorded) with many songwriters contributing, and the songs often flip traditional gender roles. Since the release, the group has performed together only occasionally. In 2022 they performed Somewhere Down the Road at the Kennedy Center Honors for Amy Grant and took part in a Loretta Lynn tribute show, with Brittney Spencer filling in for Morris.