Ravinia 2025 Issue 6

2019, in an effort to bring more attention and awareness to women in country music, Morris, along with fellow country/ Americana artists Amanda Shires, Brandi Carlile, and Natalie Hemby, formed a supergroup called The Highwomen. This female foursome was named in homage to the earlier ’80s country supergroup The Highwaymen, made up of Cash, Nelson, Kristofferson, and Jennings. The Highwomen’s self-titled album, co-written and performed by all four members, topped Billboard ’s country music chart, and placed 10th on its Top 200 Albums chart. The group’s gritty, har- monic standalone-single cover of Fleet- wood Mac’s “The Chain” quickly became a fan and radio favorite, and calls for a Highwomen reunion remain constant. During the last few years, Morris’s public advocacy for a variety of pro- gressive stances on LGBTQ+ causes and issues of racism, misogyny, gender and racial equality, and public education (including her own “Heroes Fund”) has found her at odds with the mostly conservative country music fan base and establishment. Similar to the arrows aimed at The (formerly Dixie) Chicks in 2003 when the group’s lead singer, Natalie Maines, criticized then-President George Bush during a London concert concerning the debated Iraq invasion, Morris has been their target of ongoing verbal backlash for her views. Public spats with Jason Aldean and his wife, Britta- ny, and Morgan Wallen concerning her comments brought headlines and even death threats. New songs on Dreamsi- cle , including “Lemonade” and “Carry Me Through” finds Morris confronting the recent controversies. The situation became so overwhelm- ing, she considered distancing herself from the country music scene for its views and actions toward her, despite the connection to her initial success. “I think there are people in country music that want it to be niche. They don’t want it to expand. They don’t care about it becoming more inclusive. It’s theirs, and everyone else is an ‘other,’ or ‘woke,’ or whatever. That’s sad to me, because I feel like country music at its core is people’s real stories. And to think there’s only one kind of person that gets to live them out and celebrate them is not why I’ve chosen to live there or make music within those walls,” Morris told the Los Angeles Times in 2022. The redemptive, cathartic song- writing on Dreamsicle adds another, even more intimate perspective—cop- ing with and freeing herself from the pain and uncertainty of divorce. Her five-year marriage to singer-songwriter Ryan Hurd ended in late 2023, leaving Morris with a swirl of emotions and personal loss, plus the new challenge of co-parenting their child, Hayes. However, while the album deals with heavy topics and deep, raw feelings, it is not always a quiet, somber affair. For example, “Lemonade” alludes to her ex’s “sour” disposition, and “Push Me Over” details her first post-divorce female date. But these and other songs power ahead with big, buoyant, upbeat pop. They also offer sly hints of the varied emotional wounds and doubts that linger about who she is and where she’s going. She insists Dreamsicle is not a “divorce record,” but expressions of heal- ing. Explaining to The Cut , Morris stated she is “not documenting what happened during the relationship” but instead, “the grief, anger, and sadness that follows, the vulnerability of putting yourself back out there, and reconnecting with your female friends and yourself. It’s actually what happens after divorce.” She told ELLE , “It represents … a lot of leaps of faith—just true artistic free- dom, which is what I’ve always wanted, and I’ve had, but not in this way, where it’s dovetailing with my personal life freedom. I’m being my truest, most secure self. I think the album reflects [my experience of] becoming a mom and also understanding why I needed to let go of some comforts to grow into the person that I needed to be.” “Girl Power” in action. James Turano is a freelance writer and a former entertainment editor, feature writer, and columnist for national and local magazines and newspapers. He has written official programs for eight Elton John tours since 2003 and is also a Chicago radio personality and host on WGN 720AM. RAVINIAMAGAZINE • AUG. 18 – AUG. 31, 2025 8 ALLPHOTOSBYKIRTBARNETT