- 20 minutes ago
Miranda Lambert joins the Rolling Stone Studio at our New York office to talk about blending country music and disco on her new album Crisco, out now. Along with making an album for country fans, Lambert says her other goal was to create songs that would be right at home at drag shows — according to the Texas native, that’s the epitome of success. She also lets us into her songwriting process and how her husband, Brendan McLoughlin, is slowly becoming a trusted collaborator in the writing room. Our conversation also, naturally, turns to the legacy of Dolly Parton: Lambert says she wouldn’t be where she is today without the influence of the icon.
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00:00I used to have a pet kangaroo and Ella had heard that and so when we first met she was
00:04like I've
00:05been dying to ask you this whole time I ever knew you and she asked me about it and she
00:09definitely
00:09got me out of a ticket because this female police officer was like oh you're you ran a stop stop
00:14whatever I did it's a back road in Oklahoma she was like what what's in her passenger seat I was
00:19like that's my pet her name is Olivia her name is Olivia Rooten John and um and so definitely I
00:25think she got me out of a ticket that was her name and so uh Ella was like is this
00:31story true
00:31and I was like yes it is and so she was like she's from Texas I could tell and that's
00:36where the song
00:37was born funny enough hi we're here at the Rolling Stone studio with Miranda Lambert ready to talk
00:47about her amazing new album Crisco hi Miranda hello so nice to have you here so excited to talk about
00:54this record good to see you you too we're both based in Nashville and somehow we're meeting here
00:59yeah in New York I think new energy yeah I think that tells you a little bit about how country
01:04is
01:05taking over everywhere right I hope so yeah it's about damn time well let's just jump right in and
01:11talk about Crisco that is kind of the perfect name for this genre basically that you created
01:17melding these two styles talk to me about how you came up with that you know what it's been a
01:22really
01:22fun journey I feel like um a song to sing was a duet that I wrote with Chris Stapleton and
01:28my
01:28friend and co-writer and producer Jesse Frazier and it kind of set the tone for like something
01:34new that I'd never explored in country music like I've done a lot in my career but I've never really
01:40branched out and like dug into like the part of country music that I loved but just never tried
01:47which was like you know islands in the stream and Glen Campbell so I feel like I don't know song
01:52to sing really set the tone for like something I didn't unlock something in my creativity I feel
01:58like and um Jesse and I were like let's write a few more just for fun and um a friend
02:04of mine had
02:04said the phrase Crisco to me country and disco and I was like that's a song and that's a country
02:09song
02:10and I'm from Texas and I grew up with Crisco so like it was really just organic I mean we
02:15wrote a few and
02:16then I loved it so much I was like this used to be a whole record at first I was
02:19like maybe an EP
02:20maybe just a few songs for fun and then I just really dug into like loving trying something new
02:26it's like a little saucy too Crisco a little greasy yeah I mean I love some fried chicken so
02:32well you talked about in kind of leading up to this record that a lot of people are in country
02:38music
02:38are kind of enamored with going back into the past but often that past is 90s country or outlaw country
02:45or all these different eras that we go into but no one's really quite explored disco as deeply as
02:52you have no it's like you know I feel like 70s is such an inspiring time of music in general
02:57and especially in country music and you know it was also one of those times where genres would cross
03:03over like it just was great songs were great songs and it didn't have to live in a box and
03:08I've always loved that part about you know creativity and artists that are willing to just do whatever
03:13they feel so this one is just like it's got a little bit of a lot of eras in it
03:20I mean there's
03:21a song called two things can be true and it's one of my favorites on the record and it's very
03:25patsy
03:26to me so we go back as far as like 50s too but it's mostly 70s driven I know you
03:32said kind of that
03:32ability to do whatever you want and that feels like something that you're bringing into this era really
03:38what you've always done you've always done whatever you want but this really feels like
03:43I'm just going to explore and have fun and have a good time I think it's just you know um
03:49spending so much I mean my whole adult life I've dedicated to to country music and I've been able
03:55to meet some amazing people write some amazing songs with a lot of friends of mine and I've had
04:01an amazing career like I I'm so thankful for everything that has brought me right here to this point
04:07talking to you and that the creative freedom that I bought myself by always taking a risk and always
04:14just going with my gut and going with my heart um I felt like now more than ever like what's
04:20to lose
04:20you know what I mean and also have fun like early as when you're younger as a songwriter you're kind
04:25of
04:25living all the sad songs you write and I feel like really happy in my life right now and that
04:30I've also
04:31learned that you don't have to live every song you write that becomes pretty exhausting so um we had
04:38so much fun making this record it was just like a lot of joy and you know and I do
04:44it with a friend
04:45and just being like hey what do we have to lose let's just go for it just I've never really
04:50done
04:50that before because making albums is really serious to me it should be but because it's my job but you
04:55know I think that that we kind of like no holds barred let it all go made it just a
05:01joyful process
05:01I I think I've read things about how in difficult times a lot of people turn to disco and dance
05:08music do you feel like a little bit of that seeped in here yeah I mean I think there's it's
05:13hard not
05:14to move when you're playing disco and dance music like it's hard not to just feel it and like instantly
05:18puts you in a good mood like we were just taking photos downstairs and my friend Jesse made us a
05:22playlist and it was Donna Summer and Waylon Jennings you know what I mean and it's just like
05:27it's certain in Roseanne Cash it's like to me having a an album that has a great groove it just
05:34instantly puts you in a different headspace well speaking of grooving I know you kicked off this
05:39album with Miranda Lambert's Crisco Disco Drag Brunch at CMA Fest yes I got to go and it was
05:45unbelievable um the most amazing performances um why did you want to kind of herald this
05:52era with that um we we did a drag brunch also for Kerosene's 20th anniversary last year in Austin
05:59and um I don't know if there's a more joyful place on earth than a drag brunch I mean it's
06:06just like
06:06mimosas and people being their full selves and no holds barred and it just I don't know it felt like
06:12it would set the tone for this record it was it important for you to kind of um connect with
06:18the
06:18queer and drag roots of disco as you launched into this album yes I feel like that's such a part
06:23of
06:23disco I feel like you know if you if someone dresses like you and covers you in a drag show
06:29to me like
06:30you made it like you know what I mean that's like a that's like an iconic place to be if
06:35if you show up
06:36at a drag show and I'm just like okay if if and it's like one name if they're like Miranda
06:42Dolly
06:43Reba Cher Shania I'm like that's making it to me yeah there's that famous story about how Dolly
06:50Parton showed up at her own Dolly dress like Dolly Parton drag event and she lost do you think you'd
06:57win
06:57in a Miranda I do not think I would win at all no I would absolutely lose and I'm not
07:01brave enough
07:01maybe one day I don't know it'd take a lot of Tito's we can make that yeah um but I
07:08mean I think
07:08this says so much about who you are as an artist and kind of the fan base that you cultivate
07:14because
07:14everyone is welcome you know you can be someone that goes to a drag brunch or you can get on
07:20top
07:20of a horse with a pistol and everybody's welcome as long as you all love a song yes does that
07:26feel
07:26like that is such a great way to put it that made me really happy because that is exactly music
07:31is
07:31supposed to bring people together you know it's like leave everything at the door music is supposed
07:36to be a place where you can bond over whether it's a sad song a happy song a disco song
07:41a drag brunch
07:42song like whatever it is you know I feel like music is the one thing we can all agree on
07:46sometimes
07:46and I think it's important to remember that you know we need it now more than ever we do yeah
07:51well
07:51let's talk about some of these songs so this album opens with we're kind of feeling like we're in a
07:57in a western like we're swinging through the saloon doors um it almost feels like there's a showdown
08:03and of course we have ella langley on the song with you on snakeskin boots talk to me a little
08:07bit about opening up with that song it's a little bit different I think from the rest of the record
08:12it is a little different um I mean it's a banger I've made my I've pretty much my career has
08:19existed
08:19from my bangers as I call them like mama's broken heart kerosene little red wagon um I feel like I
08:26just
08:27love this story snakeskin boots tells it's just like these two it's kind of got a thumb on louise vibe
08:33it's like these badasses that are creating their own story and having ella on there was really cool
08:38because we've had a lot of bonding moments in the last few years making her record dandelion together
08:44writing you know I'm consider myself a mentor and a sister to her and I think she would say the
08:49same
08:49it's like a sisterhood and obviously anytime you can have your friends join you and collab it makes
08:55it more fun it just elevates the process you know what I mean but snakeskin is just I mean it
09:00just gives
09:00me a feeling like I I love this it's one of those songs too that when you hear it you
09:06can see it it's
09:08like a movie you know what I mean and it paints a really cool picture it's a really unique way
09:12to
09:12open the album because it puts you in this really cinematic place yes but one of the really interesting
09:17things that I found on this record is that while you're pushing into some different sonic directions
09:22some of the lyrics are just super classic country like heartbreak songs you brought up Patsy Cline
09:29um was that kind of something that you wanted to achieve in writing this record I don't feel like
09:36I can no matter what I did it would be country you know what I mean just is in my
09:40bones it's who I am
09:42but I love that we can still have this country lyric this accent that I'll clearly have and really
09:48explore sonically all around that you know it's a cool blend you don't always write super personal
09:55confessional stories you're you know you'll hop into someone else's shoes you might write from the
10:00perspective of a man or someone going through heartbreak when you're you know perfectly happy
10:05in life how do you get into those head spaces you know I think when they call it recording artists
10:10I
10:10always remember why because my mom always says this she's like people think you're hiding behind the
10:15door with a shotgun and a cigarette because of gunpowder and lead and it's like that's a moment and a
10:20piece
10:20of a personality but also an embellished version right and I think it's just like experiences and
10:28I don't know finding the character for each song is important that's why they call it recording artists
10:34we have to go into character for each different song and we have to do that on stage too you
10:38know
10:38I'm not always running around with a little red wagon like so it's like finding these little stories
10:44and delivering the message but not living in those moments in your everyday life does that make sense
10:49yeah yeah definitely and we could see you run around with a little red wagon and I could and I
10:54would
10:55but not all the time yeah not all the time but you're also a producer on this record um you've
11:00been
11:00involved in producing your records now for a minute and you also produce Ella Langley's how would you
11:05define yourself as a producer I don't get too deep in the weeds with it I feel like I'm a
11:10big picture
11:11feeling vibe song choice producer I really love also casting I love making sure the rap band members
11:19are there and making sure it's the right players for the right songs in the right studio and I loved
11:25the collaboration of production like Jesse was such a such a force on on this record Crisco because it's
11:32such his era as an artist and writer and with Dandelion I felt like I was a wingman you know
11:37it's like
11:37weighing in on some big decisions and also letting the process play out as it should I think having you
11:45know years of experience making records comes in handy when you're trying to make something fresh
11:51but also keep it classic to you and you know really I dove way far into Ella's catalog and even
11:59though
11:59it's her sophomore album I've heard about her and now known her for a minute and just really
12:04also making sure that the the music reflects exactly what the artist wants to say and how they sound and
12:12what the overall story supposed to be and it sounds like the environment for even recording this album
12:18was really fun you had disco balls oh yeah we did it big Jesse's a DJ as well so he
12:23had the studio like
12:24decked out disco balls laser lights like it was so much fun and just felt effortless and not every
12:32record's like that some are grueling some just are you're so deep in the paint that it's it's a process
12:37and that can be enjoyable too but when you start with a song called Crisco like what's not fun about
12:42that like let's go you have exquisite tastes in covers and you only have one on this record which
12:50is a Jim Croce song why'd you pick that one I got on a Jim Croce kick I spent a
12:57couple winters in
12:58Arizona the last couple winters to go ride my horse and shoot guns and I started doing this thing called
13:03cowboy mounted shooting with one of my best friends and her name's Kenda and it's it's absolutely
13:08something that takes you out of your head it takes me out of Nashville it takes me out of music
13:13in
13:13general and I think it's really good for like a creative process to take a break from it sometimes
13:18I was driving through the desert going to ride my horse and having some downtime and sometimes you
13:24like I've known about Jim Croce my whole life heard the songs but sometimes you hear things
13:28differently like you you like all of a sudden will be driving down the road and this has happened to
13:33you
13:33like we're like oh my gosh I just heard against the wind and like I just really heard it you
13:37know
13:38what I mean yeah but I got on Jim Croce kick I just started diving in and to the catalog
13:42and I just
13:43thought the songs were so amazing and what a poet he was and is and so it felt right for
13:49Crisco and
13:50it also pushed me because it's not country and it's obviously I'm gonna always lean to like at my go
13:56-to
13:56is like let's cover a country song but this record called for something else and it just felt like it
14:01laid right in the space where we needed it to lay that's a great cover well thank you well your
14:05husband is also a co-writer on this record I know he wrote a song on your last album postcards
14:11from
14:11Texas but what was it like bringing him in and like what's it like at home are you just in
14:15the
14:15kitchen and you're just bouncing lyrics off of each other um with this one we were in California we had
14:21to we were out there for shows and we just decided to stay and and Jesse and I had started
14:26this Crisco
14:27project and we were like we want to make a whole record we only have five songs like we got
14:31to figure
14:31this out so we flew Natalie Hemby out who's one of my long-time collaborators as you know you know
14:36Natalie and Brendan was there with us and he's just he is obviously was a New York police officer for
14:43eight years and retired early to move to Nashville and he's he loves music so much and it's interesting
14:49to have somebody with that hasn't been doing it his whole life that has this kind of outside
14:54perspective and uh reckless abandon with it here and there he just he says smart things but he also
15:00his writing style is that he listens to the room and waits and then he'll just come with something
15:05that's so strong and you're like we all three were like we didn't know you had it in you you
15:11know what
15:11I mean and he loves it and it's really fun to see someone that has never done that become a
15:17creator
15:18in that way when you wake up in the morning and that song doesn't exist in the world and then
15:23you
15:23have a writing session and now this song is in the world it's kind of a magical feeling but we
15:27all get
15:27used to it because it's our living and so it's been really fun to watch him like understand that
15:33he's like this morning there was no snakeskin boots and now there is it's crazy does he ever write a
15:39lyric that you're like come on why'd you get that one he did he did a lot yeah and and
15:44I'm like really
15:45why why didn't I think of that he's one of those people that's good at everything it's kind of
15:50annoying sometimes to be honest those people happen I know those people happen but you wrote
15:55a song together called uh cowgirl curtsy which is you know about a man that's not really behaving
16:00which is probably a fun one to write with your husband it is really just like imagining and it
16:05was fun to have buffers in there for that because I'm like is this real no but it's fun so
16:10actually
16:10that title came to me because I was riding my horse with all my cowgirl friends in Arizona and
16:15one of the girls horse tripped and she said oops cowgirl curtsy and I was like I'm writing that
16:20down like songwriter brain you know you're a writer so like you write little nuggets down on your phone
16:25and I just thought it would be such a cool song title and Brendan had some great lines in that
16:29but
16:29I just love how throwback country that is well you really leaned into string arrangements on this record
16:35which is must have been really fun for you how did that impact kind of the creation of the album
16:41well that's another part of this recording process I've never really explored like I've never
16:47cut an album with strings which seems crazy because I've been in this industry a long time but I
16:52it's just something I never did and I this was perfect for it this was the time to lean in
16:58and it
16:58I didn't realize how emotional that process is it is it is incredible to go in there with your country
17:05song three chords in the truth and then have this this string arrangement that just absolutely brings
17:11that emotion to life to where it's tangible in the room like it was such a fun experience to stand
17:17in
17:17there and listen to that does it change the writing when you can you know have the string sort of
17:22speak
17:23an emotion at times absolutely I love the drama that it adds you know what I mean it's just a
17:29whole
17:29other layer of emotion and painting this picture of this scene that you've already painted with the
17:35lyrics and the melody but then it just brings it so much more to life you have some songs on
17:41here
17:41that are a little sexy well frisky like whiskey business yes do you think you'll bring some of
17:47that to the stage are you going to have some Casey Musgraves-esque disco balls dang and dang
17:52I'm definitely not going to ride disco balls but I'll have some disco balls but they won't be
17:58balls if that makes sense I'll just leave that right there in the room um you know what gotta
18:04give it to her she's bold she's always been bold um we have something in the water in East Texas
18:08yeah what is it about I don't know Texas women we just got a little extra spice here and there
18:15they are the best it makes me think of I know Ella Langley talked about the moment that inspired
18:22choosing Texas I heard that you were in a car with a certain animal is that right
18:27yeah I used to have a pink a pet kangaroo and Ella had heard that and so when we first
18:32met she
18:32was like I've been dying to ask you this whole time I ever knew you and she asked me about
18:36it and
18:36um I definitely had I had a bunch of dogs and a kangaroo in the car I was when you
18:42live in the
18:42country you back road that's what we do you know and um she definitely got me out of a ticket
18:47because this female police officer was like oh you're you ran a stop sign whatever I did it's a
18:53back road in Oklahoma and I was like she was like what what's in her passenger seat I was like
18:58that's my pet her name is Olivia her name is Olivia Root and John and um and so definitely I
19:04think she
19:04got me out of a ticket that was her name and so uh Ella was like is this story true
19:10and I was like
19:11yes it is and so she was like she's from Texas I can tell and that's where the song was
19:16born funny
19:16are there other things that you've done that you think would make someone say she's from Texas I
19:21can tell yeah I mean just existing and just being Miranda Lambert yeah I can't hide it I wish I
19:29could
19:29sometimes well we need to talk a little bit about the choose in Texas moment which you co-wrote and
19:34produced it's everywhere it's the song of the summer it's insane um congratulations thank you do you
19:40ever like look at that success and say on one hand it's amazing but two like what took all of
19:46you so
19:47long to embrace country music at this level you know what I'm so glad that this song is country
19:53like it makes me so happy it's it's this nostalgia for me the way that it sounds the way it's
20:00produced
20:00the way it was written Ella's voice and who she is in general like it just all the all the
20:06cards fell
20:06in the right spot I feel like but that the world is loving on a country song so much could
20:11not make
20:11my heart more happy and that I get to be part of it with my friends is I sing on
20:15the cake
20:19you look at how well country is doing on the charts and it's a little bit a lot the house
20:27that
20:27Miranda Lambert built don't you think that's sweet of you to say um I hope that some of the trails
20:33that
20:34I was able to blaze are you know the reason that some of this is happening I hope so because
20:40it was
20:41hard work and I never took the easiest path I took the authentic path and it feels like those doors
20:49that
20:49were open um have stayed open and people are blazing through them and I love it I always think of
20:55a story
20:55that I've heard about you when you were first getting signed for your record deal uh it's kind of
21:01Miranda Lambert lore that you walked into the room and you were like I'll do this but I have to
21:05do it
21:05exactly my own way or I don't want to do it it is absolutely true I was 19 and when
21:12I think back
21:13I'm like that was pretty dang bold just to walk in there and be like I don't need because you
21:17know
21:17I also am from a state that has its whole own music scene I mean Texas has its own thing
21:23and I was getting something going finally playing honky tonks down there for a couple three years and
21:28so I felt like home was like a landing place I could come back to if I had to change
21:35who I was I
21:36wasn't willing to do that I'd just go home and play honky tonks the rest of it and you know
21:41be
21:41fulfilled with that but I think that being from where I'm from gave me extra courage to be able to
21:46stay true to who I was and if you don't start out your career that way does it make it
21:53harder I
21:54think later on to makes it harder to be able to go and make a disco and country and yacht
22:00record when
22:00you want to right I think I do think it's important to really establish and get your roots deep in
22:07who
22:08you are and stay with that and and it's amazing to evolve as an artist like you should you should
22:14absolutely evolve and reinvent but you really need to stay authentic to who you are no matter what
22:19the sound around you is you know what I mean lyrically and and in the public eye and with
22:25the relationships you build I think just like authenticity is is your core it's your it's your
22:31beacon it's your roots you know and then you can go and be a crazy artist when you want to
22:36but
22:37I think it's you know foundation is everything yeah because authenticity that's such a country word
22:43but it really seems to be about for you just being true not to like this picture that we think
22:49of
22:49country music of what is authentic you know a dude in jeans and a leather jacket or whatever well I'm
22:54wearing a leather jacket so I guess I'm country authentic but um it's really actually about being
22:59true to yourself as an artist yes absolutely be true to yourself as an artist my mom told me when
23:05I
23:05first started this journey at 17 she was like know who you are and stick with it and that has
23:10been
23:10my sort of like that has rung in my ears my entire career if I started to float off or
23:18started to
23:18stray I just remember what she said and I I think now I know what she meant about that you
23:23know and
23:24that allows you to to do albums like you know Marfa tapes where you just strip everything away and go
23:31in
23:31the middle of you know in the middle of Texas and do acoustic songs or layer in tons of you
23:38know
23:39string instruments you know and I think the first two or three albums of an artist like you really
23:43do have to like dig your heels in and go this is who I am and it buys you creative
23:48freedom well it
23:49feels like too there's a little bit of kind of a yacht rock vibe on this album there's some Bee
23:53Gees
23:54yeah Donna Summer I mean I feel like there's a lot on here but like you said at the core
23:59it's country
24:00still yeah it's still very rooted in country Crisco right yeah I mean yeah I have to explain
24:06what that is to some people yeah well now it's a genre so everyone will know exactly I hope it
24:12is
24:12hope you're right yeah but it does feel like even yacht rock is kind of having a little bit of
24:16a
24:16country moment I know Keith Urban made yeah yacht rock country record and there's a few feelings like
24:23that on Little Big Town's new album as well I feel like you know and why not like why not
24:29just
24:30you know make make stuff that makes you feel good make stuff that tells the truth make stuff that
24:35that pushes you like it doesn't have to live in a genre box to me it shouldn't how do you
24:41um
24:43always kind of make sure that even though if you're playing or pushing the boundaries of what
24:48you're doing sonically that you keep it rooted to what makes it a Miranda Lambert song I just feel
24:53like it's so in my DNA I can't no matter what I sang or wrote it's gonna be country like
25:02and it's
25:02gonna feel like text isn't authentic to me like it just is part of it's in my bones and so
25:08I'm never
25:09worried about that what advice would you give to artists that want to be able to keep that center
25:14when they're writing and they're kind of exploring sonically I just think make sure you say exactly
25:22what you want to say doesn't matter what's going on around you it doesn't matter if it's strings or
25:26if it's synthesizers or if it's acoustic or say what you want to say say your truth well we were
25:31talking
25:31about Ella Langley and your role in producing her record and um in choosing Texas uh you've talked
25:37about when you were coming up that you didn't have a lot of kind of women there beside you kind
25:43of
25:44peers or role models or people that were you know taking you along on the journey it seems like you've
25:49really focused on being that for other people other women in country music talk to me a little bit about
25:56that it seems really important to you it is really important to me and I had some amazing friends and
26:00amazing people in my corner but it wasn't um there wasn't a lot of females out when I started really
26:07so
26:08I think it's just it can get lonely out there and it can get scary when you have no one
26:12to call
26:13on the highest high of your career or the lowest low of your career that has actually lived through
26:18it too because you have I have the most amazing friends and family so I have such a good support
26:23system but hardly anybody has felt what it feels like to have a number one song on the radio and
26:30hardly anybody knows how what it feels like to that maybe that same day you're lonely in a hotel room
26:35in Toronto you know what I mean and and sometimes the highs and lows come at the same time and
26:40nobody
26:40tells you that and so I feel like if I can be some a shoulder or an ear for somebody
26:46that's like
26:48you've lived through this so is this feeling normal you know what I mean I want to be I want
26:54to pick up
26:54the phone and talk through it and you have your own label too so you're you're really kind of getting
26:59your hands in all the different areas of the music industry Big Loud Texas has been such a cool
27:05journey um getting to sign artists and be part of their like their beginnings of their careers you
27:12know and it really um reminds me of that like fire and the energy that you have at the beginning
27:18and
27:18the excitement and the unknown and the worry and this I mean there's so many emotions when you're
27:23starting out in this industry so again that's another place where I just want to be an ear for
27:28anybody that needs to go oh my gosh I just I just heard my song on the radio for the
27:32first time
27:33and like I remember that feeling you know what I mean and I also think it keeps me on my
27:37toes and
27:37it's teaching me a lot and it's it's inspiring to see to just be around creatives and be around people
27:43with passion it's good to see you know artists at all stages of their careers and kind of in that
27:50process of leading them along you can kind of learn something about yourself that maybe you didn't even
27:54know yet yeah exactly I've learned I've learned a lot about myself and um learning that you know
28:01listening is how you learn so being able to listen to all these these stories of these younger artists
28:07and um kind of watch their journeys it not only reminds me of a lot of my own but um
28:13I can learn
28:14a lot from them you know it's a very different industry than when I started in 2004 so like I
28:20feel
28:21like I want to know the new processes I want to understand how things move and how things work now
28:26because it's a very different landscape how to do the tiktok dances I'm not gonna do that but I'm
28:31glad people do and I I'm the content's so hard for me I'm working on it yeah I'm working on
28:39it
28:39seems like a tough one yeah it's a tough one it's a toughie yeah well you also just did a
28:45great song
28:45with Kacey Musgraves horses and divorces um and I know you've talked about kind of the lure leading up
28:52into that song and you don't even know sort of what the whiskey under the bridge is that yeah what
28:59it was yeah it's about um is it frustrating that you know people always want to kind of pit artists
29:06and especially female artists against each other yeah and I think you know at the beginning too when
29:13you know we all think there's not enough room for all of us we have to claw our way to
29:17the top
29:17whatever I just think that's a little it's a misconception because if you are here's that
29:25word again if you stay true to yourself and and you also lift each other up I think the women
29:32for sure
29:32we kind of just need to do this together we don't have to be best friends all the time we
29:37don't have
29:37to be a sisterhood all the time but I think it's really important to like lean on each other when
29:42we
29:43need to and to support each other because we know what it takes to do this and it ain't easy
29:48and so you know and I do think that comes with with some time and age that you realize that
29:54more and
29:54calm down a little bit the fire calms down just a little bit you're like okay we we all proved
30:01our
30:01point they hear us all there's room for us and so I I want to encourage all the the younger
30:06artists
30:07to be the same way because you know like Kacey and I whatever our beef was neither one of us
30:11really
30:11care or know what it was about anymore you know what I mean and but you know it's also good
30:16to
30:16have a muse so we could use it and and create this song that's badass and I love it whatever
30:21it was it
30:22whatever it was an amazing song exactly yeah but I love that you said that you know women either have
30:28to be you have to be best friends at the same time and you also have to be competition there's
30:33no room
30:33for anything in between just to be normal I think you can just be normal and like pick and choose
30:38your moments and you know I also think that when you get really it can get isolating when you're
30:47trying to like well I have to prove my point and this is me and this is my journey and
30:51I do believe
30:52in and being a horse with blinders a lot of times because comparing yourself is not going to get you
30:58anywhere go to you but also you don't have to do it alone all the time yeah you know having
31:04your
31:04your Nashville crew of songwriters that you're sitting on your porch with yes and writing songs
31:10is that yes that's such a big deal and having people in your life that are not yes people that
31:16is a huge one for me like have some people in your life that support you but like will call
31:22you on
31:23your bullshit that is the way you survive this truly that seems hard I wouldn't want to I wouldn't
31:29want to tell Miranda Lambert no but you should when she's wrong you know what I mean like my mom
31:34is one
31:35of those moms it's like those jeans look terrible on you and I'm like good I like I like those
31:39people
31:39in my life or you're not living right or we think you're this is the wrong decision and like my
31:44management and um you know my whole team I've been with since day one and it's like someone that'll
31:51argue with you and and in a good way and like push you to make better decisions or stop doing
31:58something that's stupid you know what I mean yeah that seems like the best way to get the best song
32:04it is and I think you know if you think you know it all that's when the trouble starts so
32:09I feel like
32:11I've learned a lot but I do have a lot more to learn but I really I really try to
32:16surround myself
32:17with people that tell the truth you know even if it's a truth I don't want to hear well as
32:21someone
32:22that is so you know you're a songwriter at your core have you ever what do you think about AI
32:29and
32:29Suno creeping into songwriter rooms I know it's not coming into your rooms but you know it's it is
32:35terrifying like I don't know what to think about it it I need to learn more about it and I
32:41know that
32:41it can be an amazing tool I don't know how to use it in fact I thought people were saying
32:47Chad forever
32:48and I was like who's Chad and I was like oh they're talking about Chad GBT I didn't even know
32:53but and I don't want to be one of these people that is like stubborn and set in my ways
32:59and like
32:59I'll never use that and I don't want to learn new technology I don't want to be that person I
33:04want
33:04to try to be open but I also know that my process works so I might just stick with it
33:08talk to me a little
33:09bit about how you intend to bring these songs to the stage because they are so lush filled with I
33:15know you're doing a show in Nashville with strings but that's kind of my um it's you know it's been
33:21summertime is a lot for artists it's fairs and festival season it's hot so that's kind of been
33:26my beacon for like I'm really looking forward to the Billy Bob show and the truth show and it'll be
33:32the first time I've ever done my set with strings ever I've never done my catalog with
33:38with strings and so I'm really excited for it to come to life and feel what that feels like because
33:44like I was talking earlier about new artists when you have all your firsts happening this is a first
33:50for me and I'm 23 years into my career so I'm glad that I saved it kind of I'm glad
33:55that I have this
33:56now to look forward to especially with this record because it's perfect you'll probably have lots more
34:01first down the road right so I mean I'm I'm one I'm in that stage right now where I'm like
34:06open to whatever the universe is supposed to bring I trust God and he has a plan and I am
34:12a worker and
34:13I'm also loving living life and my downtime so between those two things I'm like whatever feels
34:19right I'm going to be open to yeah speaking of your downtime you have to tell me a little bit
34:23more
34:23about this shooting it's so much fun so I bought a quarter horse named cool um three years ago my
34:29friend her name Kendall on saying she is the world champion 10 times over men and women so aka a
34:36badass
34:36she and I've been friends for a while and I went to ride with her I finally got the guts
34:40up to ride
34:40with her and um and of course immediately I got addicted so we shoot a black powder from revolvers off
34:47the back of a horse and it's there's 82 courses it's a timed event I'm not fast yet I'm getting
34:53braver but you know I just what I love about it is I ride with a group of women that
34:57are from
34:5837 to 70 years old and they're from all walks of life all places around the country they went to
35:04in Arizona and they like we leave we leave it at the door you know what I mean whatever life
35:10is
35:10is bringing it's just that's the time that you're on horseback and you are just there to have
35:16camaraderie and not think about anything else it sounds you have to balance yourself on the
35:20horse while you shoot the gun yeah yeah that sounds hard it's five shots and a gun change and it's
35:25as fast as you could go well I think I'd be remiss to not ask you a question about Dolly
35:30Parton
35:30um who we lost not too long ago and I know you put up some beautiful thoughts on your social
35:36media but
35:38this album I know you referenced Dolly Parton before she passed away even she was someone that you know
35:44felt like is in the room with you when you were making it and how does it feel now to
35:48kind of
35:49have this art that drew from her yes I got to wear her hoops in the video with Chris Stapleton
35:55um song
35:56to sing video and like her actual hoops my stylist Tiffany got them from the archive and I mean she's
36:02such an influence on the world but especially you know females in country music like would I be sitting
36:09here without her probably not and it really hit so hard I know it hit the world so hard but
36:14I would I just built a new house in Nashville it's been building for a while in Franklin actually and
36:18I
36:18was sitting around I have a lot of Dolly Nuggets in my house there's a lot of pieces of her
36:23and it just felt like I felt it so hard I just felt that she was gone but I also
36:30felt that she was
36:31never leaving you know because her music and her legacy and what she did we can just and in fact
36:38that night I put on put on a vinyl and I just listened to Dolly all night and I was
36:43like you
36:44know that's the beauty of music she'll be here anytime all we have to do is push play do you
36:49have
36:49a favorite Dolly lyric is that an impossible question it's an impossible I'm sorry yeah it is
36:54all hits at different times um but I just you know and what I love about her too is
37:00she was such a songwriter at the core but what she what she took she started as a songwriter but
37:07what she was able to build from three chords and her truth from that porch in east Tennessee
37:13the empire and the impact and the light she was able to shed because of some songs is what we
37:19all
37:19strive for well it makes me think too about the work that you've done with Mutt Nation which is such
37:24a
37:24big part of your life and I think it's just you know count I don't know how many shelter pets
37:30that
37:31you've homed at this point and how I mean I I it's my passion music and Mutt's but yeah I
37:37mean
37:37Mutt Nation started 2009 my mom and I started it and I know we've we've been able to impact
37:43hundreds of thousands of animals lives and raised over 11 million dollars in that time and you know
37:50giving a voice to the voiceless it's a really important thing and again songs is what allowed
37:54me to have a platform to bring attention to that so I love it like it'll always be those two
37:59things
37:59will always be a huge piece of my life I know who turned to if I can convince my family
38:04to get a dog
38:04I know I'm only we have one dog left right now we're down to one dog and you know it's
38:10very weird
38:10because I've I've when I met my husband I had eight dogs and I was like he's like yeah so
38:16you you
38:16practice what you preach then don't you and I was like yeah I do but um so having one's been
38:21been
38:21sad but great because he's 13 we're letting him ride it out and he's full now and he just go
38:26everywhere with his mom but um you know I just also feel like it's humbling like dogs don't care
38:31who you are they don't care what you do for a living they just love you all animals I love
38:36all
38:36animals Mutt Nation's not just dog specific but um that's what we focus on but it's just you know
38:43my happiest place on earth is going to my farm and being with my horses and playing with my dogs
38:48and cats and it's kind of a church for me you know have you built like a new dog centric
38:53place at your
38:54new house yes they have their whoever they are next they have their own space their own little room but
39:01obviously any house I live in it's their house I just live in it yeah the house that build dogs
39:06exactly that's not good if you could think of a couple songs that you think would be best for
39:13a Miranda Lambert drag night what would those songs be off Crisco or anything ever um I would say
39:25I'll pick an old one and a new one I'll pick mama's broken heart and snake skin boots
39:34what are a few things that you think really signals that someone is from Texas uh well their
39:41accident number one um although there are several accidents our state is so big that people from
39:47El Paso talk nothing like people from Tyler Texas you know what I mean um their affinity for barbecue
39:54you know that's a big thing for us um and if you call him the king then I know where
40:00you're from
40:01George Strait that's a good one or if you maybe have a kangaroo in the back of your car I
40:06mean if
40:07you have a kangaroo in the back of your car you might be from Texas you might I can tell
40:10by the way
40:11um and uh lastly how about your favorite Dolly disco song oh man you know what was crazy so
40:20what prompted me to do the the drag show my brother and his husband and their friend group is
40:27like when they come to my shows it's it literally changes my show like I see them down front and
40:32they
40:32go right in the pit and it like elevates our show we're just like they're the most supportive and
40:37bring the most joy and we went um during pride actually it was world pride in New York and my
40:42brother and his husband came up and went with me and my husband and we went to this bar and
40:47on the
40:47tvs where all these remixes of Dolly and Reba classics and I was like I want to be that like
40:54I want to I want to get there one day and so I love that like you could take anything
41:00Dolly or
41:00anything Reba to me or anything Shania and instantly make it take it to another level if it's drag right
41:08or a remix or whatever so I don't know I mean the particular one that was on that like caught
41:14my eye
41:15was Jolene and so but it was a whole different remix and these people were going crazy in there so
41:20I don't know I just I'm so thankful for that community and how they make me feel and how
41:24they support you forever you know yeah loving the Shania Twain I gotta throw Shania in there too yeah
41:31she's having a good moment too she is well thank you so much Miranda Lambert for coming to
41:36the Rolling Stone studio Crisco's amazing so fun thank you so much well thank you
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