While Maren Morris might have seemed like the unlikely choice to be part of the new all-female group, The Highwomen, she didn’t have to be asked twice to join. With the group’s self-titled debut album released on Friday, Sept. 6, Morris is speaking out about the group, recalling the exact moment she decided to join the group.
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“I was sitting in the makeup chair at [Jimmy] Fallon the week GIRL was coming out when I got a phone call from [Brandi Carlile],” Morris recalled on Instagram. “She asked me if I wanted to be a part of this group she and [Amanda Shires] were forming that [Natalie Hemby] was also joining that week. It was going to be about inclusivity, love and widening the range of stories women tell through music.
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“I didn’t even hesitate before blurting out ‘YEAH!’” she continued. “Two weeks later we were in the studio in Nashville recording these songs. This album sounds and feels like coming home for me, and I hope it does for you. We are [The Highwomen] and our debut album is out now.”
The Highwomen began to help address the lack of women played on radio.
“We all have our own solo things going on, but I think that coming together on a project like this in a timely fashion, it just felt like the right move,” Morris told Apple Music’s Beats 1‘s Zane Lowe. “I’m sure you’ve heard about this very severe lack of women representation on country radio, which we’re trying to combat with this album and this movement. I really felt like I had no choice but to join, because we needed to band together now more than ever.”
Part of The Highwomen’s goal is to prove that female artists can work together, instead of apart, to help promote each other.
“I think what’s gonna fix it is really good music, but also whether or not we’re willing to stand side by side and not compete with one another, hold the door open for other women, and amplify each other,” Carlile said. “The Highwomen movement, it sets out to do that. We hope that everybody will want to be a Highwoman.”
The Highwomen’s debut single, “Redesigning Women,” is already at radio. The record can be purchased by visiting their website.
Photo Credit: Getty images / Cindy Ord
