There are women who make country music, then there are women who made country music what it is today. Miranda Lambert has one boot planted firmly in each camp. The most-honored recording artist and performer in the history of the Academy of Country Music Awards is as prolific as ever, with nominations in every category she was eligible for at this year’s ceremony and a new cookbook. Y’all Eat Yet? Welcome to the Pretty Bitchin’ Kitchen, pays homage to the recipes and East Texas spirit of friends and family that shaped Lambert’s life, much as her songs honor the patronesses of country music’s past while shaping its contemporary sound.
Lambert qualified for Triple Crown status when she was named Entertainer of the Year at the 2022 ACM Awards. Coupled with top new vocalist and top vocalist recognitions in 2007 and 2010, respectively, this put her in a class with previous Triple Crown honorees such as Merle Haggard, Barbara Mandrell, Carrie Underwood and Jason Aldean. She has 38 ACM Awards to go with her three Grammys and 14 Country Music Association Awards.
Before she started becoming decorated by the country music industry, her mother and grandmother influenced her down-home domestic aesthetics. The cookbook comes in the wake of her Wanda June Home collection (stoneware, barware, throw pillows, rugs) with “recipes for meals that are meant to be eaten with your fingers off paper plates, or on your fanciest antique china.” Lambert promises “The Best Lemon Meringue Pie Ever,” magic beans, famous meatloaf and a lesson from her daddy on seasoning cast-iron cookware to perfection.
Raising the roof and sharing hard truths in the kitchen laid the foundation for Lambert’s approach to music as she set out on her career more than two decades ago. Her voice is distinct, sweet and sultry, flavored with a rasp reminiscent of her rockabilly heroine Wanda Jackson and the sass of Dolly Parton.
Parton co-hosted the most recent ACM Awards, where Tanya Tucker was in the house as a presenter. Lambert performed “Carousel,” from her latest album Palomino, dressed in feathers and sequins, shining like the chandelier described in the song. The poignant lyrics depict a circus performer who settled down but reminisces about her glory years of flying through air with the greatest of ease. Lambert drew on her ability to imagine life through the eyes of others for the cowrite with longtime collaborators Luke Dick and Natalie Hemby.
With Lainey Wilson winning for Female Artist of the Year, three generations of country music royalty were represented. Tucker still records, Parton sang a song from her latest rock-oriented album and Jackson only recently retired from performing. Like her precedents, Lambert can plan on being relevant far into the future, and she proves it at every date of her Velvet Rodeo residency in Las Vegas. Lambert, who just left her longtime label Sony Nashville, still has an abundance of song-inspiring memories from the dinner tables where she absorbed life’s lessons, and she’s happy to keep serving them up.
Planet Hollywood Resort, ticketmaster.com
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