10 whole years of the Pistol Annies.
The girl band comprised of three incredible ladies in country music, including Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley, released their debut studio album Hell On Heels on this date back in 2011.
It debuted at #1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and peaked at #5 on the Billboard Top 200 chart.
Since then, the three friends have been through quite a bit of life together. Combined, they now have three albums, a couple of kids, one stepson, a divorce, and most recently, Hippie Annie Ashley Monroe, as she’s affectionately known, was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer.
They celebrated the big “ANNIEversary” with a few throwback photos on Instagram and hinted that something new will be coming by the end of the year:
“Today marks the 10 year ANNIEversary of releasing our debut album Hell on Heels. At the time, it was supposed to be a digital only release but y’all took it to #1 on iTunes so quickly that our label rushed to manufacture CDs.
Thanks to y’all, here we are 10 years, 3 albums later and a lot of life later. ..
We have something we’ve never done before cookin for y’all before the end of the year, but in the mean time, we’re going to spend the next 10 days strutting down memory lane with a look back at some of our favorite moments.”
They teased “something up their sleeve” back in the spring, too, and the sheer fact that it’s something they’ve never done before is enough to get me all sorts of excited.
Part of what I love about them is how unique their music is, even within the country genre alone.
It’s witty, sassy and above all, honest about the struggles women face. The fact that all three of them are from the south like I am makes me relate to them even more, I suppose.
Miranda said in a previous interview that she wanted to start the band to fill a void in perspective she saw in country music, and I think it’s safe to say at this point, that’s certainly what they’ve done:
“This band is so important to me and for female music and perspective.
Because there’s three of us, it’s such a relief in a different way. It makes me more brave, because when there’s three of us, we can say whatever we want.”
It’s just like wine night with friends ranting and raving about lord knows what every time I listen to their music. Not to be overly dramatic or anything, but I can’t imagine my life without it, really. You won’t find anything like it anywhere else.
This album in particular made such a strong statement, especially during a time that there weren’t many other female bands in the more mainstream part of country music willing to say the things that they did on this record in such a brazen, unapologetic way.
They haven’t slowed down a bit since then, either, with two other incredible studio albums in Annie Up and Interstate Gospel.
So, today, go turn up some Pistol Annies and get excited, because I have a feeling we’ll have some more new music to enjoy from them sometime in the pretty near future.
“Hell On Heels”
“Takin’ Pills”
“Boys from the South”
