‘Women Don’t Want to Hear Women’? Miranda Lambert Isn’t Buying It

Some arguments in support of country radio’s current, male-dominated format claim that women request current chart-toppers en masse over the handful of female artists on the airwaves. However, in a recent interview about her forthcoming Roadside Bars & Pink Guitars Tour, Miranda Lambert slammed this notion that "women don't want to hear women" while championing the value of diversity in country music.

“I don’t understand what that phrase means, or where it came from,” Lambert says in an interview with author and journalist Holly Gleason for Pollstar. “It makes no sense. Only we can understand each other, understand the issues and stuff that happens to women, because it is different.”

Lambert’s live set tends to draw a heavily female crowd, eager to sing every word to “Kerosene” and other fan favorites. “My top earning song – "Gunpowder & Lead" – went to No. 7. "Little Red Wagon" died in the teens. A hit is not a number, it’s when the crowd sings every word back to you," Lambert muses.

"We’re just asking to be heard, that’s not that much. It’s just being heard in [prime listening hours] – that’s all it takes. Because if people really hear it, they know; they remember and respond," she continues. "We’d love to have that radio play, because it helps a ton. And if you get on board with the new artists, especially for the young girls listening, you give that [music] to a lot of passionate women looking for their own lives [on the radio].”

Lambert's doing her part in narrowing country music's gender gap: Her next tour features not just her set and the Pistol Annies at every stop, but also a revolving cast of supporting acts. Maren Morris, Elle King, Ashley McBryde, Tenille Townes and Caylee Hammack are all on the bill, too.

7 Women We Wish We'd Hear Played on Country Radio