In 2016, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Amanda Shires had the idea to create an all-women country music supergroup. At a time when conversations were happening around the genre’s lopsided gender representation, she imagined an all-female answer to the Highwaymen of the ’80s, which consisted of outlaw juggernauts Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, and Willie Nelson. Gathering Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, and Maren Morris, Shires did just that. The quartet made their debut as the Highwomen at Loretta Lynn’s 87th birthday concert in April 2019, releasing their self-titled studio debut just five months later. Although the Highwomen have performed together only sporadically since then, at least one of its members is still holding out hope for more.
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“I mean, I would love to,” Maren Morris told Us Weekly this week at the 2025 Austin City Limits music festival. “We always talk about it.”
The Challenges of a Highwomen Reunion
Understandably, the Highwomen’s greatest asset is also its biggest obstacle—its members’ individual success and talent.
“Brandi lives in Seattle. Amanda just put her record [Nobody’s Girl] out last week,” explained Morris, 35. “I’m still touring [for Dreamsicle]. Natalie’s writing a ton for other artists.” (Hemby’s songwriting catalog includes Kacey Musgraves’ “Rainbow” and “Butterflies;” Miranda Lambert’s “Bluebird” and “White Liar;” and “Always Remember Us This Way” by Lady Gaga.)
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However, Morris doesn’t think it would take much to get the magic flowing again. “Once we can all get a date on the books in the studio, I feel like we would knock an album out in two days because we have so much pent up,” added the “Girl” singer. “I miss them dearly. And that is one of the most magical projects I’ve ever been a part of.”
The supergroup formed as pushback to the often-unspoken rule that country music has a finite number of slots for women. “The Highwomen has become an adjective for any transcendent women’s group,” Carlile told Rolling Stone in a 2019 interview. “For anyone who wants to step aside and amplify the women to the left and right, and not compete. Which is actually radical and revolutionary. It’s radical because it’s not easy to find. And it’s revolutionary because so many of us are afraid to admit we are competing. It’s such a hard thing to admit about yourself.”
Featured image by Tim Mosenfelder/WireImage
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