Amanda Shires

Born in Lubbock, Texas, and raised between Lubbock and Mineral Wells, Amanda Shires is part of the American scene where alternative country, folk and americana intersect. Trained early as a fiddler, she joined the Texas Playboys as a teenager — heirs to Bob Wills’ western swing — and then the Lubbock Thrift Store Cowboys, before developing a career as a singer-songwriter in Nashville. Amanda Shires’ songs blend intimate lyricism, couple and everyday-life narratives, and melodic work driven by fiddle, a clear voice and arrangements ranging from spare folk to more electric, atmospheric textures. She has released a series of solo albums that chart this evolution: Being Brave (2005) and West Cross Timbers (2009) through Carrying Lightning (2011), Down Fell the Doves (2013), My Piece of Land (2016), To the Sunset (2018), For Christmas (2021) and Take It Like a Man (2022). Alongside her solo career she is a member of Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, has collaborated widely in the country and americana sphere, and co-founded The Highwomen with Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris and Natalie Hemby, asserting a central place in a network of musicians that blends country tradition with contemporary concerns.