Meet The Highwomen: The Country Supergroup Singing About Women

The music industry is sexist. You know, we know it, everyone knows it. We have actually written an entire article on the music industry and sexism, if you are interested in the subject. And the country sector is no exception.

There is a general lack of representation of women in country hits and country music festivals, which has been particularly pointed out in recent years. And, on top of that, it is even rarer to hear women in country music singing about other women. We do love icons like Dolly Parton and Taylor Swift, but their love stories are not exactly sapphic.

Well, The Highwomen are right on tracks to fill in that gap. The project started as an observation in 2016, when Amanda Shires came to the realization that country music had its Highwaymen supergroup, but there were no equivalent groups composed of women.

And one thing leading to another, the first all-women country supergroup was born: The Highwomen, composed of Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires herself. The sheer amount of talent here is astounding!

Created in 2019, the group released its first album the same year and was nominated (and won!) several awards in 2020 and 2021. Our favorite one, you guessed it, is country’s first gay song (the song’s author words, not ours), ‘If She Ever Leaves Me’.

Here is an excerpt of the lyrics:

‘I've loved her in secret
I've loved her out loud
The sky hasn't always been blue
And it might last forever
Or it might not work out
If she ever leaves me, it won't be for you
If she ever leaves, it's gonna be for a woman with more time
Who's not afraid to let her dreams come true
If she ever gives her careful heart to somebody new
Well, it won't be for a cowboy like you’

See, that is what we are talking about. Country music is nice, country music by women is great. country music by women on sapphic love? This is fantastic. So, without further ado, here is this little gem: