There are a few different reasons you might be aware of singer/fiddler Amanda Shires; her frequent collaborations with her husband Jason Isbell and his band the 400 Unit is one of them. Another is her role in The Highwomen, an all-female take on the classic outlaw-country supergroup The Highwaymen featuring Shires, Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, and Natalie Hemby.
However, it would be a bad idea to let her collaborations with other talented songwriters steal the spotlight from Shires’ own work as a bandleader, most recently showed off on 2018’s To The Sunset. On that album, her songwriting skills shine through in her evocative lyrics, even as the fuller sound her band on the album (which features Jason Isbell himself, returning the favor) takes her folk-country sound to a new level that, yes it’s true, outright rocks. You’ll be able to see her rock these tunes out for yourself at The Jefferson this Saturday night, but only because they moved this show up from The Southern after it sold out in a heartbeat. So yeah, get with the program if you haven’t already. Go see Amanda Shires.
