Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert Unite to Defend All-Female Tours

Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert both made headlines when they announced their own all-female tours. Underwood launched her Cry Pretty Tour 360 earlier this year, with Maddie & Tae and Runaway June serving as her opening acts, while Lambert will kick off her Roadside Bars & Pink Guitars Tour in September, with a rotating list of female artists, including Maren Morris and Ashley McBryde.

For the female superstars, the decision to invite only women out on the road was as much about presenting a united front as it was picking talented singers to join them on the road.

"We have to lift each other up because no one is going to do it for us," Underwood told Music Row. "We have to do it ourselves. We're all just out there trying to work together, work hard and show our fans and the industry what we can do."

"I've always supported other women, and other women have always supported me, and I'm in a girl band," continued Lambert. "When we were talking about the tour, I felt like it should be an all-female lineup. Roadside Bars and Pink Guitars has been a running theme throughout my career, and they generally turn out to be the most fun tours. They're all amazing artists that have something important to say."

Underwood is one of the reigning female artists in country music, but even she isn't immune to the struggles women in the industry face. The American Idol alum's last No. 1 single was "Dirty Laundry," released in 2016. "Cry Pretty" became a Top 5 hit, with her recent "Love Wins" landing in the Top 20.

"You try to figure out what the issue is and when you get back, 'The song's not testing well,' or 'She's not testing well,' I feel like everybody's just over it," Underwood admitted. "It's frustrating because I see Maddie & Tae, Runaway June and so many other people who have got the goods, they have incredible songs, they are genuinely talented, and nice people who work their tails off. It's frustrating to see them work for so long, to make minimal gains.

"We have to put our money where our mouth is," she added, "and take women on the road with us and lift each other up."

Lambert's Cry Pretty Tour 360 will resume on Sept. 10 in San Diego, California, while Lambert's Roadside Bars & Pink Guitars Tour will launch on Sept. 13 in Uncasville, Connecticut.

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