The Highwomen Talk Gender Inequality in Country Music on ‘Ellen’

The Highwomen, a new country supergroup comprised of Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires and Natalie Hemby, are gearing up…

Lauren Jo Black

| Posted on

October 3, 2019

5:33 pm

The Highwomen; Photo by Michael Rozman/Warner Bros.

The Highwomen, a new country supergroup comprised of Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires and Natalie Hemby, are gearing up to send their debut single, “Redesigning Women,” to country radio and they celebrated with an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

While visiting the popular talk show, The Highwomen sat down with Ellen to discuss how the band formed and opened up about, as Carlile puts it, the opportunity to “try and represent more women and girls’ voices in country music.”

When DeGeneres asked Morris about the current country radio climate, she held nothing back.

“They play me, but when you compare it to some of my male peers, it’s pretty staggering, still,” she confessed. “And I’m one of the few lucky girls that gets played on country radio. We’re just trying to change that.”

The group also took the stage to perform”Redesigning Women,” which celebrates the modern working woman. With their beautiful harmonies on full display, The Highwomen delivered a flawless performance of the song, further proving why country radio programmers need to pay attention to them.

Check out their performance below.

Written by

Lauren Jo Black

Lauren Jo Black, a University of Central Florida graduate, has immersed herself in the world of country music for over 15 years. In 2008, she co-founded CountryMusicIsLove, eventually selling it to a major record label in 2015. Following the rebranding of the website to Sounds Like Nashville, Black served as Editor-in-Chief for two and a half years. Currently, she assumes the role of Editor-in-Chief at Country Now and oversees Country Now’s content and digital footprint. Her extensive experience also encompasses her previous role as a Country Music Expert Writer for Answers.com and her work being featured on Forbes.com. She’s been spotlighted among Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. Black also spent time in front of the camera as host of Country Now Live, which brought live music directly to fans in 2021 when the majority of concerts were halted due to the pandemic. During this time, she hosted 24 weeks of live concerts via Country Now Live on Twitch with special guests such as Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Jordan Davis, Brett Young, and Jon Pardi. Over the course of her career, she has had the privilege of conducting interviews with some of the industry’s most prominent stars, including Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, and many others. Lauren Jo Black is a longtime member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.