This past weekend The Highwomen reunited at The Gorge for the first time since they last played that same venue in 2023. Honestly I’ve spent the last hour or so just watching the videos of the performances and I’ve felt a mixture of deep, deep FOMO, unabashed joy and just a sense of hope and optimism which only this group of women seem to create when they’re together. 

2019, when the Highwomen united to release their only album, feels like a century ago. They hoped to change the Nashville sound, to show that women were the beating heart of country music and deserved more respect. 

In the end their initial hopes and dreams for this project didn’t exactly come true. They did well but didn’t hit the country music airwaves and dominate the charts. While some progress has been made they unfortunately didn’t start a rainbow revolution that brought diversity to the genre.

In fact Maren actually dealt with some horrific trolling from country music fans after standing up for transgender rights, causing her to distance herself from the country music mainstream altogether. Brandi’s star skyrocketed after working with Joni and Elton but she released music that veered more towards epic stadium rock. Amanda’s last couple of albums went more rock and roll too. Natalie Hemby released a second solo album but mainly focused on writing songs for other artists. A word too for Yola who featured on the debut but seems to have distanced herself from Nashville and the genre too since that time. You wondered if The Highwomen would ever come back together again as a group. 

But listening to this new live album of their 2023 show reminded me of what the Highwomen did achieve. They sang songs for people who needed them, who craved them, who wanted country music to be something else. They created something beautiful – a crowded table of their own making. 

Continue reading “Live Album Review: The Highwomen – Live at The Gorge 2023 “ →