It’s always a smart move for reporters to hang around until the bitter end of a red carpet. Like Forrest Gump says about a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.
Some of the final artists on the red carpet at the 54th annual ACM Awards were The Highwomen’s Brandi Carlile and Amanda Shires, who had updates on the new super-group and Carlile’s upcoming album with Tanya Tucker.
Carlile joked they had to do “Aman-dage control” after Shires leaked the news that the group had formed before they were ready to make the official announcement.
“I just get so excited,” Shires told CMT.com.
The Highwomen’s Carlile, Shires, Maren Morris and Natalie Hemby made their world debut with a cover of Kitty Well’s “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” at Nashville’s Loretta Lynn birthday celebration April 1.
Enjoy more from CMT.com’s red-interview with Carlile, Shires and Tucker below.
CMT.com: What can fans look forward to next from the Highwomen?
Shires: Look forward to next? Some amazing music for sure. And also, it’s a movement of inclusion. We’ve got some cool tattoos, and my husband got one, our guitar tech got one. It’s not limited to just women. It’s about supporting those you love.
Who came up with the original idea?
Shires: I came up with the idea a couple years ago, and then I reached out to Brandi, and she’s kind of the wizard behind it all — behind making the idea become a real live animal.
Will you release singles or a full album?
Shires: Full album. We’re recording more than a full album’s worth, but I doubt it’s all going to be on there.
All original music?
Shires: Yep!
What is it about your bandmates that bring out the best in you?
Shires: When you get around someone who can sing as well as Brandi can and just having somebody around you that can explain things in a way that you can kind of see, even though it’s intimidating to be around a singer like that, you still learn so much. I love working with Dave [Cobb]. I try to learn stuff from Maren, but mostly I learn how to get myself into weird shopping quandaries.
Brandi, what can you tell us about the new Tanya Tucker album you two have in the works?
Carlile: It’s an album called, While I’m Livin’.
Tucker: She named it.
Dennis Quaid: It’s the album of the year.
Tucker: It’s great!
Carlile: [There’s] a song that Tanya wrote called “Bring My Flowers Now.”
Tucker: And Brandi wrote.
Carlile: We wrote it together. It’s an amazing record. It’s Tanya’s first album in 17 years it’s really stripped down, and it’s really raw. It harkens and makes you think about the time that Johnny Cash made the American Recordings because it’s time for the kids to know where there Americana punk rock outlaw country, western music comes from, and for women, it comes from Tanya Tucker.
Tucker: I am learning all over again. She’s taught me so much. And I’ve never done a record quite like this. This is the first. She doesn’t — you always want to go back in and fix things and make them perfect? She’s caught the imperfection. I’m so scared nobody else is going to like it, but she says they will.