Miranda Lambert Opens Up About the Sisterhood She Shares With Lainey Wilson and Ella Langley
“I didn’t have a group of women to call on the highs and lows at all,” she explains.
Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, Ella Langley; Photos Provided
Miranda Lambert has learned a lot throughout her nearly two decades in country music, but one thing she wishes she had more of early in her career was a group of women she could turn to for support.
While tourmates like Dierks Bentley and Kenny Chesney helped guide her along the way, Lambert said she didn’t have the same opportunities to connect with female artists who understood the highs and lows of the industry.
Now, the “Mama’s Broken Heart” singer shares a close bond with Lainey Wilson and Ella Langley, embracing the kind of sisterhood she wished she had as a young artist.
“I didn’t have a group of women to call on the highs and lows at all. There wasn’t many of them at the time, first of all, and it was Carrie [Underwood] and I for a long time and we knew the same amounts of things, we started at the same… I’m like, “I don’t know. You know, you don’t know, I don’t know. We’re 19,’” she explained during an appearance on Apple Music Country’s The Kelleigh Bannen Show.
Although she didn’t have many female artists to turn to for guidance at the time, Lambert found support in the male superstars she toured with early in her career.
“I feel like Dierks [Bentley] was always a brother to me, Keith Urban was always taking me under his wing and all these guys took me on tour and I learned so much. Kenny [Chesney], George [Strait], Brad Paisley, Toby Keith, I learned something different from every one of those tours,” she shared. “But I didn’t have ‘sit on the bus in your pajamas and talk about stuff’ time with these girls.”
Now, Lambert has found that kind of connection with Wilson and Langley, building the support system she once wished she had.
“Lainey did call me when her first song went number one and she was like, ‘I just wanted to talk to somebody that knew exactly what that felt like.’ And then you also call them when you’re like, ‘Well, they dropped my single’… I just didn’t have that and I’m like, ‘I also need it,’” she said.
Lambert also recently sat down with Southern Living’s Sid Evans for an episode of the Biscuits & Jam podcast, where she shared more about her friendship with Langley.
“I love her. I see so much of my younger self in her and her kind of attitude about everything,” Lambert shared of Langley. “And she just knows exactly who she is. She knows what she wants. She knows how to go after it. I realized, this girl knows exactly where she’s going and what she wants and wants to take me on the journey as a wingman, which was great. And I learned a lot from her too.”
The GRAMMY-winning singer also emphasized the importance of women in country music supporting one another throughout their careers.
“We gotta lean on each other. All the girls that we have in our kind of girl gang, we absolutely need each other to bounce things off of and to hold each other up when it’s hard and to celebrate when it’s worth celebrating. I’m so happy to be in country music because that’s a really special thing we have in Nashville.”
Lambert, Langley and Wilson are also among the most-nominated artists at the upcoming 60th Annual CMA Awards, adding another milestone to an already exciting time for the three female artists.
Lauren Jo Black is a longtime country music journalist, editor, host, and media personality whose work has helped shape the conversation around country music for nearly two decades. As the current Editor-in-Chief of Country Now, she has become one of the genre’s most respected voices, interviewing hundreds of country music’s biggest stars, including Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, Randy Travis, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, and countless others. Over the course of her career, Black’s written work and interviews have reached billions of country music fans worldwide. A 2009 graduate of the University of Central Florida, Black began her career by founding Country Music Is Love, one of country music’s earliest independent digital publications, which she later sold to a major record label in 2015 before it was rebranded as Sounds Like Nashville. She then served as the publication’s Editor-in-Chief for more than two years. Her work has also appeared in Forbes, and she previously served as the Country Music Expert for Answers.com. Widely recognized for her expertise, Black has appeared as a featured guest on The Bobby Bones Show, BobbyCast, and Scripps News Morning Rush, providing insight on country music’s biggest moments. She has also hosted Country Now Live, a concert series featuring performances from artists including Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Riley Green, Jordan Davis, Dustin Lynch, Gabby Barrett, Brett Young, Jon Pardi, Kip Moore, Chris Young, and more. The series has welcomed thousands of fans in person while reaching millions more online. In addition, she hosted Connect With Country Now, a weekly interview series featuring conversations with rising country stars. Throughout her career, Black has earned a reputation for discovering and championing artists long before they become household names. She has covered Luke Bryan since the early days of his career, beginning when he was writing songs for other artists, including Billy Currington’s No. 1 hit “Good Directions,” before stepping into the spotlight with his debut single, “All My Friends Say” and eventually becoming one of biggest names in music. She also gave Megan Moroney her first opportunity to walk a major red carpet as Country Now’s official guest correspondent at the 2022 CMA Awards. An interview she conducted in 2018 for Forbes.com with Luke Combs that inspired his multi-week No. 1 hit, “Doin’ This.” She has also hosted stages at CMA Fest, moderated an industry panel at Country Radio Seminar, and helped lead important conversations about the evolving landscape of country music media. Beyond journalism, Black has also used her platform to support charitable causes and highlight organizations making an impact. Through Country Now Live, she has helped raise awareness and support for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, while also advocating for animal rescue through Country Now’s Pupdate series, spotlighting organizations including MuttNation Foundation, Wags & Walks, and Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue. Black has been recognized as one of Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. She is a longtime member of both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM). After nearly 20 years covering country music, Lauren Jo Black has spent her career telling the stories behind the artists, songs, and moments that have shaped the genre. Her first-ever book, Country Music Forever: An A-to-Z Celebration of Icons, Songs and Stories, brings that same passion and firsthand knowledge to the page, celebrating not only the legendary artists and timeless songs that have become the soundtrack to generations of fans, but also the places, traditions, and cultural moments that have made country music one of the most beloved genres around the world.
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