It’s one thing to be a female artist in country music, empowering women within the industry and in life in general through music, inspiration and determination, but to have a group of four extremely talented and down-right bad-ass women come together and pursue that drive, that independence not only for all but especially for themselves – that power is tactile and unstoppable. Just ask Heather Harper, Amanda Pruitt, Drew Haley and Kristen Kae – otherwise known as The Highway Women. These women have put in the work to bring their independent successes, and have fused their individual styles into one of the most exciting and uplifting groups out there today. Last month the quad followed their incredible 2019 releases “Stand Up and Fight” and “God Made Me Right” with a single that is not only a universal anthem but rather a declaration to never give up with “Shake the Dust.”
We caught up with Kristen, Heather and Drew (Amanda is currently on tour) to talk about their individual journeys, the creation and fight for this band, and what’s to come.
CN: For our readers who may not be familiar with you, can you tell us a little bit about yourselves?
HW: We are an all-female band with a mission to empower women in and out of the music industry. We have a very heavy focus on country music with some crossover to country pop and rock!
CN: How were each of you introduced to music?
Kristen: I was born, and I think I sang before I spoke my first words. Truth. I was told when I was a baby I would hum tunes in my crib.
Drew: I was raised in a music family and grew up to love the art of songwriting. I naturally segued to singing my own songs!
Heather: Me too! I grew up in a singing household, my mother is a singer, so I was on stage as a little girl. I still share the stage with my mom occasionally, she is my best friend.
CN: When did you realize that you wanted to pursue it as a career?
Kristen: I was in High School. I did musical theater and found my professional voice.
Drew: It just happened naturally for me; it was my journey.
Heather: I never thought I would do anything else.
CN: Which musicians, country or not, have influenced you both personally and as an artist?
HW Group Answer: Reba (Kristen is her biggest fan), Miranda, Joan Jett, Patsy, Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera…. the list is endless.
CN: What was the first album you ever owned?
Kristen: Kelly Clarkson Breakaway
Heather: Backstreet Boys
Drew: The Judds
CN: How did you all meet?
HW: Jill Pavel. Our owner. She found us, believed in us, and helped us become a music family.
CN: When did you decide to join forces and create The Highway Women?
HW: The Highway Women formed in 2016. Jill bought the record label in August 2017 and decided to develop a new band and voila here we are!
CN: What was the inspiration behind the name? A connection to the legendary Highwaymen?
HW: Originally the original owner thought that it would be cool to nod to the legendary “Highway Men”. Today it has a whole different meaning to us. We want to use our music and our platform to encourage other women in the music industry to go after their dreams. We also want to encourage women and girls to believe that all things are possible . . . if they were still a band, Johnny, Waylon, Willie and Kris would be proud of how fierce we are in our character, integrity and our absolute determination to make it in this industry.
CN: What does it mean to be to not only be solo female artists in country music today, but to pull together your talents to form this group?
HW: Well what a great question. First and foremost, Jill supports our solo careers and we support each other’s solo endeavors 100%. Pulling together is important, especially in the music industry. Last year we had our entire platform copied by a major label and it really drove home our mission to support each other and other women in the music industry.
CN: At the end of June you released your recent single “Shake The Dust.” Much like your past releases, it is very empowering.
HW: Well we have a theme! “Shake the Dust” was the third song in a very personal mission of ours encompassing our journey in the music industry. Starting with “Stand Up and Fight” which speaks for itself, followed by “God Made Me Right” which speaks to self-love because we are all God’s Creations. “Shake the Dust” is our nod to what happened last year when our platform was copied. Shake off all the negativity, rise up and kick some a$$! We hope that this song empowers people to stay the course, never give up and never let anyone stand between you and your dreams.
CN: You also released a music video for the single, which is a bit of a documentary about you all hitting the road for a gig. The video really connected the song to you all – that you are shaking the dust.
HW: We had so much fun making this video. What most people do not realize is we were singing LIVE. (Kristen – The only authentic way to do it in my book). The entire storyboard of the video really was relatable to all of us and it is resonating as well with our fans. We have almost 300K views through facebook, so shaking the dust is something that we all need right now. We have all been through a lot over the past six months and our biggest joy is that the video is helping to give people hope and motivation to shake it!
CN: Can you take us through its songwriting process?
HW: Amanda Pruitt and Davis Corley wrote the song. Davis brought a lot of his childhood to the table when writing the song (he played football) and Amanda who is a faith driven woman brought Mark 10:14 from the bible to the song.
CN: How often do you write solo and as a group?
HW: We are writing together and solo. Jill encourages us to bring songs to the table from within, so our next EP which is going to start being recorded next week is all original music from us!
CN: In what ways has the current COVID-19 situation affected your craft?
HW: We are writing more, recording more because we want to keep bringing new music to our fans. It has brought us closer together in so many ways. We spend more time face-timing, supporting each other and most of all we are really trying to be there for our fans. We would not be here without them.
CN: What about in regards to inspiration (providing some or a lack of)?
HW: If anything, we are stepping out of our box a bit, I think our fans our going to be in for a big surprise with the next EP. I guess you can say we are inspired to reach further musically then we might of prior to COVID19.
CN: If you could collaborate with any one artist, who would it be?
HW: We would welcome collaborating with many artists, and we are, so stay tuned.
But for the sake of Kristen not giving us the stink eye… we would LOVE to collaborate with REBA!!! I mean she did shout us out at the CMA’s this past year. By accident but it was a blessing. Thank you, Reba we love, you. Mic Drop. 🎤
CN: What was the first concert you ever attended?
Kristen: Taylor Swift
Drew: Garth Brooks
Heather: Smile Empty Soul
CN: If you could describe yourselves in one word – individually and as a group – what would it be?
Kristen: Firecracker
Drew: Wildflower
Heather: Dreamer
Group: Unstoppable
CN: With the pandemic still preventing most live shows, where can fans catch you?
HW: We are on social media everyday… Instagram, Facebook & Twitter @highwaywomen
CN: Are you doing any live streams?
HW: Yes, we have done a bunch and have a few more scheduled over the next few weeks.
CN: What’s next on the horizon for you?
HW: We are recording next week in Nashville, getting a jump on our next EP. August we are filming music videos and an acoustic series for our fans. Most of all like everyone else we are praying for health and an end to COVID-19.
For more information on the Highway Women, visit www.highwaywomen.com and follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.