In 2016, when Shires was finishing her record
My Piece of Land in music producer
Dave Cobb's studio, she had an idea to create a female country supergroup, similar to the legendary
Highwaymen supergroup consisting of
Johnny Cash,
Waylon Jennings,
Kris Kristofferson and
Willie Nelson. At the same time, the lack of representation of women artists on country music radio and at country music festivals had been publicly discussed by many, influenced by the
MeToo movement and journalists like Marissa Moss. While on tour in her van, listening to country radio, Shires kept a running list of artists and noticed that there were few women. When she called to request they play more women artists, she was directed to a Facebook page lottery system. Cobb recommended Shires call Carlile, whom she didn't know. Carlile thought it would be fun, and would be an interesting creative project. The band, who jokingly refer to the collaboration as a pirate-ship experience, said that they see the project as an incubator project that highlights mentorship and support of fellow women artists. The group made their live debut on April 1, 2019 at
Loretta Lynn's 87th birthday concert held at the
Bridgestone Arena in
Nashville. There,
Natalie Hemby was officially revealed as the final member and the quartet performed "
It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels". Their debut single, "Redesigning Women", and its associated music video featuring female artists including
Tanya Tucker,
Cam,
Lauren Alaina,
Cassadee Pope and
Wynonna Judd was released on 19 July 2019, with their
self-titled debut album (set for release on September 6) becoming available for pre-order on the same day. The song was promoted by country singer
Dierks Bentley, who released a comedic reading of the lyrics to his
YouTube Channel, which received praise from Carlile and Morris. Their second single, "
Crowded Table", written by band member Hemby and
Lori McKenna, was released on July 26, 2019. In July 2019, the Highwomen performed their first ever full live set at the 60th annual
Newport Folk Festival, previewing songs from their upcoming album including "If She Ever Leaves Me", written by Shires, her husband
Jason Isbell and Chris Thompkins. With Carlile on lead vocals, Isbell described it as "the first gay country song", which elicited applause from the audience. Other songs performed included "My Only Child", an ode to "suburban moms" performed by Hemby, who wrote the track with Shires and
Miranda Lambert; "Loose Change", a nod to '70s country written by Morris,
Daniel Layus of
Augustana, and
Maggie Chapman, featuring Morris on lead vocals; and "Cocktail and a Song", which was written solely by Shires in honor of her father. Carlile later invited the rest of the Highwomen to join her during her headlining set, where, as they originally intended, the group performed alongside other female artists including
Amy Ray,
Courtney Marie Andrews,
Dolly Parton,
Jade Bird,
Judy Collins,
Linda Perry,
Lucy Dacus, Our Native Daughters,
Sheryl Crow, The First Ladies of Bluegrass, and
Yola Carter. Shires said the plan was always to debut their music at Newport with Dolly Parton. The band wore custom suits by
Manuel. The title track of their self-titled debut album was released on August 13, 2019. Written by Carlile and Shires with
Jimmy Webb, the original writer of "
Highwayman", the track that originally inspired the Highwomen's formation, it tells the story of various women throughout history and features guest vocals from British country soul singer
Yola Carter and backing vocals from
Sheryl Crow. The song is a classic answer song. Many of the songs flip gender roles, with additions of characters like refugee, preacher, Freedom Rider, and a healer, compared to the characters drawn by the Highwaymen songs. Following the release of their album, the band have infrequently performed together. In 2022, they performed "
Somewhere Down The Road" at the
Kennedy Center Honors in tribute to
Amy Grant, who was one of the honorees. They also performed "
Coal Miner's Daughter" during a tribute show on
CMT following the death of
Loretta Lynn, with
Brittney Spencer standing in for Morris. ==Discography==