Following the release of The Marfa Tapes last month, Miranda Lambert regrouped with songwriting partners Jack Ingram and Jon Randall to perform their song “Tequila Does” at the CMT Music Awards on Wednesday night (June 9). Making the most of their pandemic performance restrictions, the three kindred spirits set a stage for themselves offsite at Cedarwood Weddings in Nashville.
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The catchy drinking tune first appeared on her Grammy Award-winning 2019 album Wildcard and was just one of Lamberts hits that the trio penned together on one of their many ritualistic pilgrimages to the West Texas desert.
“Usually every couple of years, when it’s time to write, we’ll disappear and go to a pasture somewhere, and stay for three days and have a fire and just write songs,” Lambert said in a video describing the story behind the song.
“A lot of them end up being about Texas because you’ve got three Texans out there. We wrote ’Tin Man’ together, so we shared that really special moment together. So after that, writing something like ’Tequila Does,’ was kind of like, ’Let’s write a fun one. Let’s write a fun Texas honky tonk song.’”
Lambert was among the evening’s top nominees, earning nominations in several categories including Collaborative Video of the Year (“Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home),” alongside Elle King) and Female Video of the Year (“Settling Down”).
The Marfa Tapes was a major departure for the acclaimed artist. Often perceived under the limelight as a polished country star, her collaborative album project is embellished with imperfections throughout. Between audible errors and missed lyrics, Lambert’s true talent rises above rough cut vocals.
Lambert, Randall and Ingram will also help launch the new CMT Campfire Sessions series that will premiere Thursday, June 10. The double-episode premiere will also include performances from Kane Brown and newcomers Restless Road.
Watch Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram, and Jon Randall perform “Tequila Does” below.
Photo by John Shearer/2021 CMT Awards/Getty Images for CMT
