Miranda Lambert Is Done Talking About Gender Equality in Country

"I’m very protective of the newer girls," she says.

Miranda Lambert Is Done Talking About Gender Equality in Country
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 07: Miranda Lambert attends the 54th Academy Of Country Music Awards at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino on April 07, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

Miranda Lambert says she’s tired of hearing about how women don’t get enough exposure in country music. But she’s not one to sit idly by, either, so she’s taking matters into her own hands this fall.

The superstar has enlisted an all female lineup for her 2019 Roadside Bars & Pink Guitars Tour, which will feature Elle King, Maren Morris, Ashley McBryde, Caylee Hammack, Tenille Townes and the Pistol Annies from September through November.

Speaking with Pollstar about the tour, she says it’s time to stop talking and take action.

Lambert says she’s inspired by all the women she’s taking on tour – calling each of them a “badass” in their own way – and says she feels like it’s now her job to give them a better experience than she had coming up.

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“I’m actually exhausted from all the conversation,” Lambert says, responding to the ongoing narrative about women getting less country radio airplay than men – a trend which continues despite being widely reported since 2015. “I’m sick of it, and I figured, ‘Why don’t we just go do something?’ Put the music on the road, give it to the people — and hopefully, they hear what they need in these songs.”

“At 17, I started for real with a bar gig, a house gig — not for the faint of heart,” she explains, speaking about her earliest days in the industry. “It’s not pleasant at times, the nasty comments, the not getting paid, clanking beer bottles, the club owners who put you in uncomfortable positions … being given a foot of stage when you’re opening, making the best of it.”

“So I’m very protective of the music, and I’m very protective of the newer girls,” Lambert went on. “If these are my little soldiers, then I’m going to fight to give them a place that makes sense, to let the people coming know I love their music — and they need to hear these women.”

Lambert also says it’s a mistake to lump all women in country into the same category, because just like anyone else each one is different. But there is at least one thing each of them have in common, and eventually, she thinks that will turn the tide toward gender equality.

“We’re all fighters, fighting for what we love,” she said. “You don’t stop because it’s hard, I think you get together and fight harder.”

Lambert’s 2019 Roadside Bars & Pink Guitars Tour kicks off with a two-night stand on September 13th-14th in Uncasville, Connecticut, and runs through November 23rd in Greensboro, North Carolina.