Miranda Lambert may be the most-awarded artist in Academy of Country Music history—a three-time Grammy winner and a seven-time Country Music Association (CMA) Female Vocalist of the Year with 14 total CMA trophies. She is also a Vegas success (her Velvet Rodeo residency closed out its run at Planet Hollywood in 2024), a businesswoman with a clothing line and a home line, a label head and a philanthropist, but that doesn’t mean Lambert’s lost sight of her roots. In fact, she credits her upbringing in Texas and her Nashville success story as key factors in all she does.

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Lambert grew up in East Texas, just an hour from Louisiana (“I think that’s why my accent’s so thick,” she explains). She made her musical mark from an early age in Dallas and Austin before moving to Nashville in pursuit of her dreams.

“I always say my heart is split equally in half between Texas and Tennessee. I love that both places are based around music,” she says. It’s easy to see why she’s made homes for herself and her husband of six years, Brendan McLoughlin, in Austin and Nashville. Lambert has been in Nashville in some form or fashion since she was 19; however, since she is also a firm believer in celebrating one’s roots, she’s also made a part-time home in The Lone Star State.

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The singer grew up in Lindale, which she calls “the quintessential Friday night football, Sunday morning church, storybook Texas town,” but cut her musical chops playing in various cities. Her first gig was at Rudy’s Country Store & Bar-B-Q in Tyler, where she played three-hour sets for $100 and “all the brisket I could eat.” Soon she was playing in Dallas and Austin—the latter of which captured her heart.

“My little brother went to UT (the University of Texas), so I’m obviously a Longhorns fan through and through. He went to Austin at 17 and never left,” she says. “Now I have a little place in Austin, and that’s where our family meets a lot.”

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“I’m so lucky that I grew up in a state that has its own chart, its own scene. You can play in Texas for 10 years straight and never play the same place twice.” –MIRANDA LAMBERT

It’s no coincidence that many of the things Lambert loves about Nashville carry over to Austin, namely good music, good food and good times. She and McLoughlin enjoy exploring South Congress, hitting up Soho House and, of course, dancing at the famous Broken Spoke. “Our place in Austin is walkable to things, and I enjoy that aspect,” she says. “The weather is so great all year. I love walking Lady Bird Lake. Every single person has a mutt. It makes me so happy!”

Lambert’s love of “mutts” grew from her Texas upbringing and culminated in launching MuttNation with her mom, Bev Lambert, in 2009. The donation-supported 501c(3) nonprofit organization promotes the adoption of shelter pets and advanced spay and neuter. It also works with transport partners to assist and relocate animals during times of natural disaster and raises money for pet-related causes. MuttNation Fueled by Miranda Lambert, a pet line of toys and supplies that benefits the Foundation, is available exclusively at Tractor Supply Company stores, with proceeds going directly to the organization. “To date, we’ve raised over $10 million for shelters—raising awareness for adoption, and helping with spaying and neutering.”

“I WANTED TO GO HOME AND GET BACK TO HOW ALL THIS EVEN STARTED–ME WITH MY LITTLE GUITAR ON MY PORCH IN THE PINEY WOODS.” –MIRANDA LAMBERT

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“I’m so thankful that the thing I love to do, music, this career, has set me up with a platform to give a voice to the voiceless. It was a natural thing for me because animals have always been a passion. I grew up in rural East Texas, where there are strays everywhere. We always had random stray dogs become our pets. This was a natural progression,” she says.

Her upbringing in Texas is also responsible for her love of music, and she’s furthering that passion with her newest music venture, cofounding the label Big Loud Texas with frequent collaborator (and fellow Texan) Jon Randall. “Our goal is to bridge the gap between Nashville and the Texas music scene,” she explains. “They’ve always been their own thing, but there’s a lot of overlap, and I want to nurture that. I’m so lucky that I grew up in a state that has its own chart, its own scene. You can play in Texas for 10 years straight and never play the same place twice.”

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Most recently, Lambert recorded her 2024 hit Postcards from Texas at Austin’s Arlyn Studios. “I just felt like I needed to go back,” she says of the project. “I wanted to go home and get back to how all this even started—me with my little guitar on my porch in the piney woods.”

Expect to see her in town again soon as a headliner at the Two Step Inn, billed as the “world’s largest honky tonk,” taking place in Georgetown on April 5.

With so much on her plate, Lambert looks to her past and her passion to stay grounded. “I have to keep that at the forefront because it gets busy. Everything that I’m chasing that isn’t music-based has to be rooted in the music,” she says. “Those three chords and the truth are what lead to all these amazing things I get to be part of.”