Amanda Shires

One of the most celebrated figures to rise from the Americana community in the 2010s and 2020s, Amanda Shires first earned a reputation as a world-class fiddler before she was recognized as a gifted, imaginative vocalist and songwriter. Shires contributed to projects with artists as diverse as Beck, John Prine, Blackberry Smoke, and Todd Snider, and she was a key member of Jason Isbell's band the 400 Unit and the all-female Americana supergroup the Highwomen. Her solo career allowed her to explore more diverse musical and lyrical ideas, from the alt country-influenced Carrying Lightning (2011) and the genre-spanning rock and pop showcase To the Sunset (2018) to her elegant collaboration with Bobbie Nelson, 2023's Loving You. Shires' very adaptable talent also made room for vintage soul sounds, '60s-influenced pop, moody indie rock, and noisy goth-influenced epics on her ambitious 2022 LP Take It Like a Man.