Amanda Shires
Amanda Rose Shires (born March 5, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and fiddle player. Shires has released seven solo albums starting in 2005, her most recent being Take It Like a Man in 2022. In 2019, she founded a country music supergroup called The Highwomen alongside Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris and Natalie Hemby and has also performed as a member of the Texas Playboys, Thrift Store Cowboys, and Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, as well as in a duo with Rod Picott. Along with Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Shires won the Grammy Award for Best Americana Album for their 2017 album The Nashville Sound.[3][4]
Amanda Shires
Amanda Rose Shires[1]
March 5, 1982
Lubbock, Texas, United States
- Singer
- songwriter
- Vocals
- fiddle
- autoharp
- ukulele
- tenor guitar
1997–present
Early life[edit]
Following her parents' divorce, Shires' childhood was divided between the Texas cities of Lubbock and Mineral Wells.[5] Her mother is a retired nurse. She also used to be a barrel racer at rodeos.[6] Her father owns a wholesale nursery in Mineral Wells and has a hobby of gold prospecting in Alaska.[6] She is distantly related to noted photographer Erica Shires, who produced the video for the song "Swimmer".[7]
At the age of 10, she happened to be with her father while he was shopping for hunting gear at a pawn shop in Mineral Wells.[6][8] She saw an inexpensive Chinese-made fiddle for sale and her father agreed to buy it for her on the condition that she learn to play it.[6][8][9] It took a while for her to play it well; she usually practiced outside because her dog had a habit of howling while she played.[10] When she was 12, she started taking fiddle lessons in Lubbock from Lanny Fiel, who knew Frankie McCourter from the Texas Playboys.[11] She then started learning fiddle from McCourter and was later invited to play at the band's shows.[11] At the age of 15, she joined the Texas Playboys, the former backing band for Western swing legend Bob Wills.[12]
Musical style[edit]
David Menconi of the magazine Spin said that Shires "sings [...] like an earthbound Emmylou Harris",[15] and her vocals have been likened to those of Dolly Parton.[24][25] The imagery in her songwriting has been compared to that of Tom Waits.[5][25] Although her principal instrument is the fiddle, she also plays the ukulele.[25]
Personal life[edit]
Shires began dating fellow musician Jason Isbell in 2011. The couple married on February 23, 2013[26] and had their first child[27] on September 1, 2015.[28][29] She was previously in a relationship with singer Rod Picott.[30] In December 2023, Isbell filed for divorce from Shires.[31]