Women of Country Music

Lainey Wilson

2022 ACM New Female Artist of the Year and Song of the Year winner debuted her freshman album early last year. Sayin' What I'm Thinkin' is loaded with firecracker songs, such as LA, which was co-written with Hannah Dasher, another emerging artist that should be on everyone's radar. Wilson charged up this album with her first #1 single, Things A Man Oughta Know, which is just as heart-wrenching as it is empowering. She keeps country, well, country with songs like Rolling Stone and the title track, while adding a retro twist to songs such as Pipe and WWDD. The track list shines with vulnerability, a good beat, truth telling, and getting straight to the point. A true storyteller and spit-fire. 

Tenille Arts

Ever heard of a country singer who acquired a #1 single through an all-female team? Well, now you have! Somebody Like That was written, produced, and performed by only females. This was Arts' debut charting single ever, off her album Love, Heartbreak, & Everything in Between, which is just that. The Call You Names singer stole my attention with I Hate This back in 2019 and I immediately wished I had heard her sooner. Give It To Me Straight is empowering as it diminishes the idea that we (females, or humans in general) need sugarcoating when going through a breakup and it demonstrates excellent songwriting as it is also a play-on words. Tenille Arts released albums in back to back years. Typically, this isn't seen too often from artists who write the majority of their work but Arts pulled it off as both records are filled with heart, grit, and passion. Ps, if you're a sucker for a solo write like me, Right Guy Wrong Time is the song for you.

Mickey Guyton

Guyton has opened the doors to new conversations in the industry and everyday interactions between her songwriting, storytelling, social media activism, and beyond. Her songwriting has changed the narrative for so many and she's just getting started. Black Like Me and What Are You Gonna Tell Her? begin the conversation so many of us are scared to have, or don't know how to have as there is a clear cut division in society that should be diminished. She uses her powerful and stunning voice for activism, and shows various perspectives through her songwriting. Heaven Down Here and Bridges are songs attempting to fill the gap of humanity. The common denominator is that through the confusion and frustration of life, especially the last two years, we should find community in each other. Better Than I Left Me is another powerhouse of a track as it examines finding wholeness in yourself after leaving someone and finally standing your ground. Like I said, Guyton is just getting started. Her mission statement is consistent throughout her artistry and is finally getting the recognition it deserves. There is no ceiling to this singer's limits. 

Hailey Whitters

Whitters has a unique sound that is electric and magnifying. You can find more rock-influenced tracks, such as City Girl or Heartbreaker, then switch to the down to earth, old school, authentic country sound she's known for. Influenced by sounds like Lori McKenna and Miranda Lambert, Whitters has collaborated with some of the industry's best known artists- Karen Fairchild, Brent Cobb, Jordan Davis, Hillary Lindsey and even Trisha Yearwood. Her positive attitude permeates tracks such as Fillin' My Cup, Glad To Be Here, and The Ride, and living on after heartache in Living The Dream. Janice At The Hotel Bar is a bitter-sweet song about crossing paths with a stranger that inevitably has an impact on your life, larger than you imagined. Her record The Dream (followed by the deluxe version: Living The Dream) is filled with stories and tunes that will leave you in a better mood than you started in. This record, specifically Happy People, proves that when Lori McKenna and Hailey Whitters get together to write, it turns into pure gold.

Kathleen Regan

Honesty. Vulnerability. Connection. The folk singer-songwriter's EP, People & Places (Vol. 1), encompasses five different stories. Mercy portrays the battle between forgiving and forgetting. You Never Know examines how easily life can pass us by due to the climate of modern day life- technology, becoming less naive in a sad way, etc. The Gentleman- all of her songs are captivating, but this one is extra mysterious and intriguing. Better Than That is a powerful, ballad-like reexamination of  life and accepting things as they are and as they happened, and growing through it. Coast of Maine is the remembrance of a place where someone can go to feel the most grounded. It is going to the place where we can escape every day life and become connected to ourselves again.

Her latest release- Good Place, which holds the title track and Halfway There, encapsulate what it means to find the light at the end of the tunnel. The harmonies resemble a sense of freedom- from negative thoughts, from stress, from being held down. 

Tenille Townes

Tenille Townes radiates good energy and that is shown through her songwriting, performance, and attention to her audience. Townes has a unique sound which attracts people of various genres. Her breakthrough track, Somebody's Daughter, explains how Townes would repeatedly see a stranger standing on the side of the road and how everyone has a story, and she simply wondered how people inevitably end up in different paths in life, regardless of the starting point. Townes' Living Room Worktapes holds an acoustic variety of tracks she has written, which inevitably evolved into her debut album- The Lemonade Stand. This record holds tracks that will both tear at your heartstrings as well as have you up and dancing. Girl Who Didn't Care is one of her most recent tracks that I have had on repeat the last few weeks. It is retracing back to being a child and the beauty of naivety. 

Aubrie Sellers

Rock meets country and garage country is born. Creating her own sound in a Nashville setting isn't an easy task, yet Sellers has accomplished her mission in doing so. She compels her listeners in through combining traditional rock sounds, as heard in Just To Be With You and Glad, with a country ambiance as portrayed in Far From Home and Run, and Losing Ground. Sellers' medleys combine the likeness of Brandy Clark with Ashley Monroe. Liar Liar is a mysterious buildup that'll have you hooked, and Paper Doll  is a confident anthem declaring the identification of mean girls in society. Her perspectives are encapsulating. Her freshman and sophomore albums are consistent in their quality and authenticity, yet still portray her growth as an artist, a songwriter, and a human. 

Morgan Wade

Wade's debut album, Reckless, is easily one of my most listened to records the past year, and according to my social media feed, it is a lot of other's favorite albums as well. Reckless is the rawness and realness people crave in music and everyday conversations. If you're going to start with Wade's music, you can start with Wilder Days, the song that everyone, me included, got hooked on and introduced the industry to her music, or you can start with The Night. The fan-favorite tune that discusses the treacherous battle with depression, mental health, and the stigma that surrounds it. "There's a rule here in the south that you can't talk about your mental health" is just as jaw-dropping on paper as it is in harmonies. Through Your Eyes examines the innocence and beauty in viewing life like a child. Don't Cry, my personal favorite, examines the dangerous dialog we can have with ourselves and the struggle between letting ourselves or our alter ego guide our life. Met You is a solo write that is produced with passion, emotion, and gentle strumming that'll make you wish you were listening to it at Broken Spoke. Wade's writing is traditional country- vulnerable. not-sugar coated. revealing. 

Danielle Bradbery

​I refuse to believe people can talk about empowering songs without mentioning Worth It or Potential off her record I Don't Believe We've Met, which was produced as a reintroduction after the record that followed her The Voice win. Bradbery even manages to make a song like Laying Low inspiring, motivating, and gravitational. While her ballads are groundbreaking, her attention grabbing songs don't stop there. Stop Draggin' Your Boots is guaranteed to give you that extra self-confidence boost in the morning, on your drive to work, or just simply getting through your day. Break My Heart Again, one of her most recent releases, beautifully reminisces on the repeated cycle after a breakup and the extreme feelings and thoughts that engulf an individual. It is an easily addictive song. Sway, the inaugural single to her record, makes everyone do just that. It defines the stress relief we feel when a good song comes on. After all, music is medicine. Lastly, just listen to those high notes in Blackout and Never Have I Ever, and I dare you to not tell me that left you speechless. 

Ps, Worth It and Potential are songs I highly recommend any female listen to. They're so empowering I have 

Brooke Eden

Last but certainly far from least. Brooke Eden is another trailblazer in the industry. After recently making a decision so many are advised against, especially in a southern industry, Eden came out as a member of the LGBT community. Unwilling to hold her true identity back any longer, you can audibly hear her smile through her songs. Her recent collection of songs is a trilogy containing the story of getting out of a relationship, finding new love with her now fiancé Hillary, and realizing she's Got No Choice but to unmask her new love. American Dreamin' is just that. It's a feel-good song about desiring to just be yourself and finding community in all wanting to pursue something. Act Like You Don't is a powerhouse, post-breakup anthem that is very easy to scream in the car to; followed on the tracklist with Silence Speaks, a valuable lesson about how moving on quietly, without announcement, is the best breakup remedy. Eden's personality shines through her music boldly and happily with influences of soulful, classic country, with a pop twist.

All of these artists contribute to the genre that continues to welcome people with open arms and I hope everyone feels that way through listening to them. Make sure to continue to check their websites for live shows in your area and stream them wherever you can. It will not be long until they are leading the genre.

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