Miranda Lambert:
The Cover Story
Miranda Lambert:
The Cover Story
L-R: Jon Randall, Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram; Photo Credit: Jim and Ilde Cook of CookHouseMedia
Miranda Lambert is no stranger to collaborations. The three-time GRAMMY-winner has released three albums with the Pistol Annies, the chart-topping trio that includes her “gal pals” Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley. She has also duetted on singles with acts like Carrie Underwood (“Somethin’ Bad”), Elle King (“Drunk And Don’t Wanna Go Home”), Keith Urban (“We Were Us”) and Jason Aldean (“Drowns the Whiskey”). This month Lambert unveils her latest collaborative effort with the May 7 release of The Marfa Tapes. The songwriting project features songs she penned over the past six years with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall.
“We’re all doing this because we love it and it’s what we’re born to do,” the 35-time Academy of Country Music Awards winner tells Sounds Like Nashville over the phone days before the 2021 awards show. “It’s a lot more fun to celebrate writing great songs and putting out records with your friends. We’re lucky enough that we’re friends with people that love what we love and do what we do, so this is another way to celebrate that.”
When Lambert, Ingram and Randall first traveled to Marfa, TX, in 2015 together, the longtime friends never intended to write any songs or to record an album. The plan was simply to escape during a road trip. Inspired by the beauty of the landscape, several songs soon came to fruition.
“You’d have to see the place, but if you’re out there, there’s nothing else to do but write songs,” Randall says. “We start talking about life and start getting the guitars out and the next thing you know a song comes out.”
Despite years of friendship, Lambert, Ingram and Randall never wrote together before their Marfa trip. The first song the trio penned was “The Wind’s Just Gonna Blow,” one of 15 tracks that appears on The Marfa Tapes. A nostalgic reflection on life and the end of a relationship, “The Wind’s Just Gonna Blow” has Lambert on lead vocals while showcasing the trio’s memorable harmonies. “We knew right away there was chemistry,” Lambert says of writing the tune.
They returned to Marfa several times after the 2015 visit and created around 20 songs. During a trip to Marfa in September 2020 the co-writers went back through the songs they wrote together and decided to share them with Lambert’s mother, Beverly.
Jon Randall, Jack Ingram and Miranda Lambert; Photo Credit: Spencer Peeples
Miranda Lambert is no stranger to collaborations. The three-time GRAMMY-winner has released three albums with the Pistol Annies, the chart-topping trio that includes her “gal pals” Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley. She has also duetted on singles with acts like Carrie Underwood (“Somethin’ Bad”), Elle King (“Drunk And Don’t Wanna Go Home”), Keith Urban (“We Were Us”) and Jason Aldean (“Drowns the Whiskey”). This month Lambert unveils her latest collaborative effort with the May 7 release of The Marfa Tapes. The songwriting project features songs she penned over the past six years with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall.
“We’re all doing this because we love it and it’s what we’re born to do,” the 35-time Academy of Country Music Awards winner tells Sounds Like Nashville over the phone days before the 2021 awards show. “It’s a lot more fun to celebrate writing great songs and putting out records with your friends. We’re lucky enough that we’re friends with people that love what we love and do what we do, so this is another way to celebrate that.”
Jon Randall, Jack Ingram and Miranda Lambert; Photo Credit: Spencer Peeples
When Lambert, Ingram and Randall first traveled to Marfa, TX, in 2015 together, the longtime friends never intended to write any songs or to record an album. The plan was simply to escape during a road trip. Inspired by the beauty of the landscape, several songs soon came to fruition.
“You’d have to see the place, but if you’re out there, there’s nothing else to do but write songs,” Randall says. “We start talking about life and start getting the guitars out and the next thing you know a song comes out.”
Despite years of friendship, Lambert, Ingram and Randall never wrote together before their Marfa trip. The first song the trio penned was “The Wind’s Just Gonna Blow,” one of 15 tracks that appears on The Marfa Tapes. A nostalgic reflection on life and the end of a relationship, “The Wind’s Just Gonna Blow” has Lambert on lead vocals while showcasing the trio’s memorable harmonies. “We knew right away there was chemistry,” Lambert says of writing the tune.
They returned to Marfa several times after the 2015 visit and created around 20 songs. During a trip to Marfa in September 2020 the co-writers went back through the songs they wrote together and decided to share them with Lambert’s mother, Beverly.
“Songs aren’t real until you play them for people,” Ingram says. “We played them for Beverly, Miranda’s mom, and she started crying. I think that’s when Miranda said, ‘This needs to be a record.’” Ingram and Randall agreed with Lambert’s decision to release the music they created together.
“We didn’t want these songs to get lost in oblivion on work tapes or on your phone you find 20 years later,” Lambert says. “We really feel these are great songs and the relationship that we share is a big deal to us, so we thought we’d put out a songwriter record with these songs.”
The friendship between the three writers dates back nearly 20 years. Ingram recalls first hearing Lambert sing in Nacogdoches, TX, when she was a teenager. They were on the same bill together in East Texas a night that Ingram was having car trouble.
“My touring vehicle had broken down,” Ingram says. “My transmission was on fire when we pulled up. You need oxygen to have a fire going and driving there the flames were up, and when we stopped it would go out. I heard Miranda singing a song on the stage opening the show. I was like, ‘Woah, I’m going to like her, whoever that is.’”
Lambert admired Ingram’s music and their relationship started with her going to his meet-and-greet table and telling him that she was a huge fan of his songs. She says that relationship soon budded into more of a family relationship.
While Ingram and Randall have known each other for 25 years, Lambert met Randall shortly after signing her record deal. “I met Jon when we were signed to Sony at the same time, right at the beginning, maybe 2005 or 2006,” she says. “We were both on the label with Jon’s wife Jessi [Alexander] and my bestie, Ashley Monroe, and we all made a group of friends to hang out with. And then having so much respect for these two musically turned into a beautiful friendship.”
That friendship eventually blossomed into The Marfa Tapes. Lambert, Ingram and Randall never intended to record a full-length album together. Initially, the plan was to release the original work tapes. The more time they spent with the songs, though, the more the songwriters realized the importance of the music. They decided their creations needed a proper recording.
“We wanted the sound quality good enough for people to hear us and so we took two microphones back out there,” Lambert explains of their November return to Marfa to record the project. “We didn’t want it to sound polished or ruin the whole idea by overproducing. I think we did a pretty good job of keeping it pretty raw and real. You have to listen a little harder because there is a lot of noise and we wanted that noise in there because that paints the picture of where we were.”
“Songs aren’t real until you play them for people,” Ingram says. “We played them for Beverly, Miranda’s mom, and she started crying. I think that’s when Miranda said, ‘This needs to be a record.’” Ingram and Randall agreed with Lambert’s decision to release the music they created together.
“We didn’t want these songs to get lost in oblivion on work tapes or on your phone you find 20 years later,” Lambert says. “We really feel these are great songs and the relationship that we share is a big deal to us, so we thought we’d put out a songwriter record with these songs.”
The friendship between the three writers dates back nearly 20 years. Ingram recalls first hearing Lambert sing in Nacogdoches, TX, when she was a teenager. They were on the same bill together in East Texas a night that Ingram was having car trouble.
“My touring vehicle had broken down,” Ingram says. “My transmission was on fire when we pulled up. You need oxygen to have a fire going and driving there the flames were up, and when we stopped it would go out. I heard Miranda singing a song on the stage opening the show. I was like, ‘Woah, I’m going to like her, whoever that is.’”
Lambert admired Ingram’s music and their relationship started with her going to his meet-and-greet table and telling him that she was a huge fan of his songs. She says that relationship soon budded into more of a family relationship.
While Ingram and Randall have known each other for 25 years, Lambert met Randall shortly after signing her record deal. “I met Jon when we were signed to Sony at the same time, right at the beginning, maybe 2005 or 2006,” she says. “We were both on the label with Jon’s wife Jessi [Alexander] and my bestie, Ashley Monroe, and we all made a group of friends to hang out with. And then having so much respect for these two musically turned into a beautiful friendship.”
That friendship eventually blossomed into The Marfa Tapes. Lambert, Ingram and Randall never intended to record a full-length album together. Initially, the plan was to release the original work tapes. The more time they spent with the songs, though, the more the songwriters realized the importance of the music. They decided their creations needed a proper recording.
“We wanted the sound quality good enough for people to hear us and so we took two microphones back out there,” Lambert explains of their November return to Marfa to record the project. “We didn’t want it to sound polished or ruin the whole idea by overproducing. I think we did a pretty good job of keeping it pretty raw and real. You have to listen a little harder because there is a lot of noise and we wanted that noise in there because that paints the picture of where we were.”
Jon Randall, Jack Ingram and Miranda Lambert; Photo Credit: Sony Music Nashville
The result is a stunning 15-track album that transports the listener to Marfa. The wind is heard blowing at the end of love song “Anchor” while cows are mooing in the distance during the trio’s ode to Texas with “Amazing Grace (West Texas).” Even some of the banter between the collaborators is heard throughout the project.
Album opener “In His Arms” introduces The Marfa Tapes with one acoustic guitar and three-part harmonies. “I’ve seen El Paso when the sky was on fire,” Lambert sings on the first verse before namedropping West Texas and Marfa. It was this lyric that kicked off the writing session.
“Out there is the best sunset you’ll ever see in your life. It brought up the line, ‘I’ve seen El Paso when the sky was on fire,’” Randall recalls of writing “In His Arms,” which the trio performed at the ACM Awards in April. “That’s how that song started from the first line and then we wrote into what that song ultimately was about. It mentions Marfa, a little tip of the hat to the town that we were in. I think that was a good way to start the record.”
Meanwhile, Ingram says “Anchor” is a song that has changed in meaning for him since the time the trio first wrote it together. “At the start, for me, it was about a singular relationship with somebody,” he says. “It turned into, for me, when you fall for somebody and go ahead and go all the way. Let it take you down if it’s going to.”
He says lyrics like, “Be my angel/ Come and save me/ Come and take me to the other side” highlight this sentiment.
For Lambert and Randall, the song that holds added meaning is “Tin Man,” which won ACM Song of the Year for 2017. “It was really special to sing ‘Tin Man’ again for this project and think about the journey that song has had over the past few years,” Lambert says of the ballad which first appeared on her 2016 double album The Weight of These Wings.
Adds Randall, “We got a Song of the Year out of that one. That gave us the green light to keep writing songs together and that there’s something there for us. That’s one that the world got to hear and now they get to hear where that came from, the other songs that came from that.”
“Tin Man” and “Tequila Does” were previously released on Lambert’s solo projects. She says it was important to include these songs on The Marfa Tapes as they reflect a moment during the time they were written.
“We want people to feel the whole range of emotions that we felt when we were down in Marfa writing, and I think you really get a window into that when you hear those two songs in their rawest forms,” she says. “This collection of songs just felt right. There’s some fun, there’s some really sad, heart-wrenching songs, and then there’s some good ole country stuff and stuff that sort of harkens back to the roots of the music that we all grew up on and listen to and bond over.”
“Breaking a Heart” is one of the heart-wrenching songs featured on The Marfa Tapes. The delicate ballad is sung from the perspective of a person who is about to end a relationship. “Goodbyes are never easy/ I don’t know if the hardest part/ Is being heartbroken or breaking a heart,” the trio sing on the chorus.
“When you’re going through a breakup or divorce, even when it’s the right thing to do, it’s just hard,” Randall says. “It’s about just getting through a divorce and trying not to blame anybody. Nobody’s really wrong or right it says in there.”
He says lyrics like, “Be my angel/ Come and save me/ Come and take me to the other side” highlight this sentiment.
For Lambert and Randall, the song that holds added meaning is “Tin Man,” which won ACM Song of the Year for 2017. “It was really special to sing ‘Tin Man’ again for this project and think about the journey that song has had over the past few years,” Lambert says of the ballad which first appeared on her 2016 double album The Weight of These Wings.
Adds Randall, “We got a Song of the Year out of that one. That gave us the green light to keep writing songs together and that there’s something there for us. That’s one that the world got to hear and now they get to hear where that came from, the other songs that came from that.”
“Tin Man” and “Tequila Does” were previously released on Lambert’s solo projects. She says it was important to include these songs on The Marfa Tapes as they reflect a moment during the time they were written.
“We want people to feel the whole range of emotions that we felt when we were down in Marfa writing, and I think you really get a window into that when you hear those two songs in their rawest forms,” she says. “This collection of songs just felt right. There’s some fun, there’s some really sad, heart-wrenching songs, and then there’s some good ole country stuff and stuff that sort of harkens back to the roots of the music that we all grew up on and listen to and bond over.”
“Breaking a Heart” is one of the heart-wrenching songs featured on The Marfa Tapes. The delicate ballad is sung from the perspective of a person who is about to end a relationship. “Goodbyes are never easy/ I don’t know if the hardest part/ Is being heartbroken or breaking a heart,” the trio sing on the chorus.
“When you’re going through a breakup or divorce, even when it’s the right thing to do, it’s just hard,” Randall says. “It’s about just getting through a divorce and trying not to blame anybody. Nobody’s really wrong or right it says in there.”
Jon Randall, Jack Ingram and Miranda Lambert; Photo Credit: Sony Music Nashville
Adds Ingram, “A lot of times all your addictions are about guilt and shame. I think that being addicted in a relationship sometimes when you know it’s supposed to end, you’re going to walk away feeling guilty or angry and it really is a toss-up. If you’re the one breaking up with somebody you may want to, but you also know that there’s another heart on the other end that it’s going to break as well. There’s a lot of guilt that goes along with that and a lot of shame on the other side too being left. It hits on both edges.”
When the world came to a halt in 2020 the collaborators were given more time to live with the songs they had written. As a result, the COVID-19 pandemic allowed for a new perspective on their craft and the songs they created together.
“One of the good things that came out of shutting down was getting to rest and give yourself space to be a little more creative and write songs for the hell of it instead of having an agenda with everything that you’re creating,” Lambert notes.
Randall agrees, adding that they took a step back from being business oriented when it came to songwriting since there wasn’t much business going on.
“I think it gave every artist time to take a step back and go, ‘This is where it started for me. I’m going to start back at the beginning and find my art in it all,’” Randall says.
For Lambert, time off the road during the pandemic meant focusing on her other ventures. She recently launched the “Love Harder” campaign through her nonprofit MuttNation to shine a light on dogs that are harder to get adopted and to encourage others to adopt senior dogs and dogs with disabilities.
“Since starting MuttNation Foundation with my mom in 2009, we’ve really focused on spreading the word about the importance of adoption,” she explains. “Over the years, it’s meant so much to hear from fans that they’ve adopted their first dog and to hear how much that has changed their life. Focusing on the harder to adopt dogs was a way to take that adoption messaging to the next level. If you’ve adopted a dog in the past and had a great experience, I hope that people continue to look in a shelter to find their next baby. So many pups need good homes.”
Just as openly as Lambert shares her love of dogs and passion for adoption, she will soon reveal more of her Texas roots. Fans will be able to literally take a step inside Lambert’s creative vision with the opening of Miranda Lambert’s Casa Rosa. The four-level entertainment complex coming to Nashville’s Lower Broadway makes Lambert the first female country artists to have a bar and restaurant on Broadway.
“It’s a very big deal to me to represent the female vision of a restaurant/bar on Broadway,” she says of the establishment, which is scheduled to open this summer. “Growing up in Texas, I’m such a huge fan of Tex-Mex. It’s food that I love and now I get to bring that to Nashville to a bar with my name on it.
“I’ve been very involved in the design because I want people to have a place that feels like my taste and so it mattered to me when folks go there, they feel like its Miranda’s place.”
As she continues to branch into other avenues, including her lifestyle brand Idyllwind, Lambert’s main focus is The Marfa Tapes. She has no immediate plans for a follow-up to her GRAMMY-winning Best Country Album Wildcard.
“It’s wonderful to win, however because each project is different, I don’t feel pressure about awards in general. Before I went in to record Wildcard, I hid the awards that were on display at my home, so it feels fresh every time,” she says. “If you start to get too focused on winning or awards or people’s expectations that messes with the art. It’s important to be open-minded in the creative process and to just go where the songs are taking you.”
It’s this same mentality that she embraced for her latest project. With no agenda except to simply enjoy a trip with friends Ingram and Randall, Lambert’s collaborative effort The Marfa Tapes gives the rawest glimpse into the singer as a creative to date.
“I’m surprised that we put them all on an album,” she says with a laugh. “We’re still in shock about the whole thing — that the idea actually came together and we’re putting it out. … It’s not every day you have this kind of chemistry with people or this kind of history of friendship, so this music is another way to celebrate that, and hope people come along for the ride.”
Photo courtesy of Miranda Lambert on Facebook
Just as openly as Lambert shares her love of dogs and passion for adoption, she will soon reveal more of her Texas roots. Fans will be able to literally take a step inside Lambert’s creative vision with the opening of Miranda Lambert’s Casa Rosa. The four-level entertainment complex coming to Nashville’s Lower Broadway makes Lambert the first female country artists to have a bar and restaurant on Broadway.
“It’s a very big deal to me to represent the female vision of a restaurant/bar on Broadway,” she says of the establishment, which is scheduled to open this summer. “Growing up in Texas, I’m such a huge fan of Tex-Mex. It’s food that I love and now I get to bring that to Nashville to a bar with my name on it.
“I’ve been very involved in the design because I want people to have a place that feels like my taste and so it mattered to me when folks go there, they feel like its Miranda’s place.”
Photo courtesy of Miranda Lambert on Facebook
As she continues to branch into other avenues, including her lifestyle brand Idyllwind, Lambert’s main focus is The Marfa Tapes. She has no immediate plans for a follow-up to her GRAMMY-winning Best Country Album Wildcard.
“It’s wonderful to win, however because each project is different, I don’t feel pressure about awards in general. Before I went in to record Wildcard, I hid the awards that were on display at my home, so it feels fresh every time,” she says. “If you start to get too focused on winning or awards or people’s expectations that messes with the art. It’s important to be open-minded in the creative process and to just go where the songs are taking you.”
It’s this same mentality that she embraced for her latest project. With no agenda except to simply enjoy a trip with friends Ingram and Randall, Lambert’s collaborative effort The Marfa Tapes gives the rawest glimpse into the singer as a creative to date.
“I’m surprised that we put them all on an album,” she says with a laugh. “We’re still in shock about the whole thing — that the idea actually came together and we’re putting it out. … It’s not every day you have this kind of chemistry with people or this kind of history of friendship, so this music is another way to celebrate that, and hope people come along for the ride.”
