Runaway June knew they would have to break down a few walls as an all-female trio, especially in an era where country music is clearly favoring male artists. The threesome, made up of Naomi Cooke, Jennifer Wayne and Hannah Mulholland, are willing to do the hard work, not just for them, but for the young girls who aspire to do be like them, and look to Runaway June for inspiration.
“I want to make sure that little girls right now have people to look up to,” Mulholland told Billboard.
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“We’re busting down the door for other women to come through,” continued Cooke. “If that’s the purpose of this band, I’ll take it.”
All three women looked up to Dixie Chicks and SHeDAISY when they needed role models, becoming disheartened to realize those kind of acts didn’t exist anymore. The Runaway June members were told, together and separately, that women didn’t want to hear other women – a claim they whole-heartedly refuted. Their first two singles, “Lipstick” and “Wild West” cracked the Top 40 – an already impressive feat – but their third single, “Buy My Own Drinks,” is in the Top 15, with no sign of slowing down.
“We’ve been beat down with people telling us that stupid thing, and it’s just not true,” Cooke acknowledged. “We all knew it was BS, and we’re seeing it in front of our eyes. It’s a big energy boost for us.”
“Buy My Own Drinks” was written by the Runaway June members, along with Hillary Lindsey and Josh Kear, the latter who had the original idea for the female-empowerment anthem.
“Josh, the only guy in the room, said, ‘What about the title ‘Buy My Own Drinks’?” Mulholland recalled. “Hillary started playing this groove on guitar, and we knew exactly where to take it.”
Runaway June debuted the song shortly after they wrote it at their inaugural Stagecoach Festival performance, convincing them that the song was bound to be a hit.
“The reaction from the crowd was unlike anything we’ve gotten from any of our songs before,” Mulholland recounted.
“Buy My Own Drinks” is from Runaway June’s freshman Blue Roses album, more than three years in the making.
“It feels like we have the album that we’re ready to let fly,” Cooke told PopCulture.com. “We’re kind of just waiting to see what everybody thinks now, but it’s out, and it feels really good to be like, ‘Okay, we’re finally done.’ All of that work is in a little package and it’s out there.”
Runaway June will return to the road with Carrie Underwood for the second leg of her Cry Pretty Tour 360 in September. Find dates and purchase Blue Roses, at RunawayJune.com.
Photo Credit: Getty images/Rick Diamond
