JEFF JOHNSON
You can take the girl out of Texas, but you can’t take the Texas out of the girl.
Three-time GRAMMY winner and Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year, Miranda Lambert, has established herself as one of country music’s best throughout her twenty-plus year career. Since she first splashed onto the country music scene in 2003 as a contestant on Nashville Star, Lambert has grown tremendously as an artist. But at the heart of her countless accolades and ever-growing achievements is still the same signature Texas twang and honky tonk sound that continues to inspire her music today — even if she was building that foundation long before she knew what the future would hold.
“I always loved music growing up, but I was kind of a regular teenager. I didn’t know what I was going to do. When I was 17, I started playing guitar, [and] my dad taught me a couple of chords, and it was the one thing that actually came naturally to me. I played sports, cheerleading, and all the things that you do, but I was never very good at any of those things until music. It was kind of like, ‘Oh, OK, maybe this is what I’m supposed to be doing,’” Lambert recalls. “Once I discovered that, it was close to graduation and I did not want to go to college because I had no clue what I would study, so I just dove hard into music. I guess when I decided to make it a career is when I had no plan b. My parents were like, ‘We’ll spend the money we saved for your college on this career, but you’ve got to go for it because there’s no backup plan.’ At 18, I was like, ‘I’ll chase it with all gusto and see what happens.’”
Turns out, a lot has happened. Lambert’s determination to chase that dream full throttle has earned her seven No. 1 solo albums, 10 No. 1 hit radio singles, a twice-extended Las Vegas residency, and has made her the most-awarded artist in Academy of Country Music history. And now, with the release of her new album, Postcards from Texas (available September 13), Lambert revisits her roots (physically and musically) for an album that’s authentically her.
“I’ve been making records in Nashville for 20 years, and I got a new label – last year I signed with Republic [Records] New York, and Big Loud is our Nashville partner. I just felt like for being on a label 20 years and making records in Nashville for 20 years, I kind of wanted to go back home to Texas and make a record that really just felt like home to me,” Lambert says. “All the inspiration for it was just all the things I’ve ever loved. I feel like this is the most ‘Me’ album I’ve made in a really long time. It just has a lot of my influences on it.”
The 14-track project co-produced by Lambert and long-time friend, collaborator, and fellow Texan Jon Randall marks Lambert’s first album with Republic Records. And the excitement of a new label only contributed to her inspiration to create this new album.
“I just have new excitement and it sort of inspired me to jump back in it,” says Lambert. “Signing with Republic, they’re just 100 percent behind me they’re 100 percent in it, and it just gives me new life.”
Recorded at Austin’s legendary Arlyn Recording Studios, Postcards from Texas captures a range of melodies from deep-cut ballads to fiery revenge anthems. A prime example of the latter being the album’s lead single “Wranglers.”
JAMES MACARI
The classic woman-scorned, boot-stomper feels reminiscent (in a cool, older sister way) to Lambert’s hit song “Gunpowder & Lead” boasting her signature powerhouse vocals and a “can’t be messed with” resilience. And, of course, Lambert’s tongue-in-cheek humor shines through on this album as well. The pure country shuffle “Alimony” – co-written by Lambert, Shane McAnally, and Natalie Hemby – uses every Texas metaphor the trio could come up with to pen a track that lightens the heaviness of a divorce to create a can’t-help- but-sing-along rocker.
Although there are plenty of great Texas references throughout, the song was built around the last line of the chorus: “You start steppin’ out / Only one thing can console me / If you’re gonna leave me in San Antone / Remember the alimony.” Accompanying the witty lyrics is an undeniable classic honky tonk sound, which is a constant theme throughout the album.
“I think [the album is] definitely a honky tonk theme. It definitely feels like old school honky tonk to me, and that’s where it all starts and ends for me. That’s where I got my chops as a performer, and my love for music is those honky tonks in Texas as a young girl. I feel like it’s just bringing that back around,” says Lambert.
“We used a lot of the Texas musicians and that’s the music that I started with,” she goes on. “We have our own music scene there, our own chart, and our own sound. I felt like I wanted to bring more of that in because that’s the music that started it. This record just felt full circle.”
One of those fellow Texas musicians is Parker McCollum, who collaborated with Lambert on the duet “Santa Fe.” A gentler side of the album, the longing ballad showcases Lambert’s and McCollum’s vocals blending in beautiful harmony, and also happens to be one of her favorite songs on the album.
“I think [my favorite song] changes weekly because it’s still new, but ‘Santa Fe’ is a standout for me. It just has this sound and feel to me. It’s a duet with Parker McCollum, who’s another Texas pal of mine, and he’s just killin’ it out there. I wrote it with Dean Dillon, Jessie Jo Dillon, and Jesse Frasure, and the melody just feels like some of the songs I’ve loved my whole life,” says Lambert.
JULIA DRUMMOND
Even with all the time, energy, and passion she poured into Postcards from Texas, Lambert somehow manages to utilize her talents in several other ways as well. One of those ways is by helping new artists turn their dreams into a reality. Lambert and Jon Randall teamed up this past November to partner with Big Loud Records to launch Big Loud Texas. It’s a venture near and dear to Lambert’s heart and one that fuels her creativity in an entirely new way.
“I’m so excited about it. It has been really cool to get to work on that side of it, and to start being able to use the 20-something years of experience I have to help other artists and be a mentor. I’m there for them on whatever level they need me to be, and it’s fun to see the excitement in some of these younger artists and just be a part of the beginning of their journey,” says Lambert. “It is definitely something I’m looking forward to; really leaning into the journey of these other artists because it’s such a different creative outlet for me.”
Between this partnership and the release of her new album, Lambert has a lot to look forward to and even more on the horizon, including tour dates through the rest of the year. One of the shows she is most excited about is Music for Mutts, a benefit concert raising money for shelter pets and celebrating 15 years of Lambert’s nonprofit, MuttNation. With Lambert as the headliner, fans can also expect guest appearances from some of her pet-loving, musician friends for an unforgettable night of music all for an incredible cause.
JAMIE WRIGHT
Since founding the organization with her mom in 2009, MuttNation has raised over $10 million with a mission to promote the adoption of shelter pets, advance spay and neuter, and to educate the public about the benefits of those actions. Additionally, MuttNation works with transport partners to assist and relocate animals during times of natural disaster. The upcoming benefit concert is not only a testament to all the good that has been done, but also an opportunity to further that mission and save even more animals.
“We started [MuttNation] just out of love and need. I’m lucky enough that I got to a place in my career early where I had a platform, and I wanted to do something good and really give a voice to the voiceless. I had always been an animal lover, and we’ve taken in stray dogs my entire life, so it felt like the perfect thing. MuttNation was just a little mom-and-pop operation and now it’s the 15th anniversary, we have raised over $10 million, saved thousands of dogs, and helped thousands of shelters. I’m really thankful that country music is a vehicle that can shine a light on something that really needs some help. It’s doing good, even one pup at a time,” Lambert says. “I’m very excited [for Music for Mutts] and to save some pups. It’s cool to mix two passions, and music and mutts are my two favorite passions in life, so it will be really fun.”
When it comes to passions, it’s apparent that all of Lambert’s are true to who she is. Whether it’s MuttNation, her clothing and boot brand Idyllwind, her home line Wanda June, or even her iconic Broadway bar Casa Rosa, Lambert is careful to embark on ventures that come from the heart. Her music, and this new album in particular, exemplify her commitment to authenticity. And that’s because, for Lambert, music will always be at the heart of it all.
“The music leads all of it, so I always focus first on the music, making records, and going on the road because that’s what drives everything else and inspires everything else,” Lambert says. “But I really don’t do anything that I can’t be 100 percent authentic in. I want it to really have my stamp on it and really feel like me, so I try to choose wisely. I see every garment and every boot that comes out of Idyllwind, and I was a part of the entire creative process for Casa Rosa. It’s important to make sure you can stay fully involved because it has to be authentic.”
Lambert may call Nashville home, and she may revisit and draw inspiration from her home state Texas, but perhaps it’s being at home within herself and the authenticity that comes with it that has cemented her country star status and all that’s yet to come.