Her Country: How the Women of Country Music Became the Success They Were Never Supposed to Be

Music journalist Moss debuts with an exuberant deep-dive into the careers of three country music stars who “opened up a window to a musical world where women are in charge.” Offering a spirited cultural history of country music over the last 25 years, Moss traces how it went from being a space where singers like LeAnn Rimes and the (formerly Dixie) Chicks reigned supreme in the late ’90s, to becoming a rigged system hell-bent on silencing its women: by 2020, Moss notes, “women [were] only played on country radio 16 percent of the time.” However, women country artists such as Mickey Guyton, Maren Morris, and Kacey Musgraves would challenge “what was thought to be a rule,” Moss writes. Here she traces how they broke molds in the “good ol’ boys club” to forge an inclusive genre. It wasn’t until Guyton realized she had “too many white men making decisions for me” that she went on to “be instrumental in underscoring” the deep connection “between Black and queer artists in country radio.” Similarly, it was six-time Grammy winner Musgraves’s “set[ting] the ground rules” with Capitol Records in 2011 that helped her find success on her own terms. Throughout, Moss also shines a brilliant light on other trailblazing artists who’ve transformed the industry—among them Miranda Lambert, Taylor Swift, and Shania Twain. This is the unapologetic celebration fans have been waiting for. (May)