The One About the Flowers

I started off writing this as my review and case for Kaitlin Butts’ new album Hello, Honky Tonk as Album of the Year. However, as I was reflecting on each of the tracks, I was slapped in the face by the reminder of a systemic problem we all recognize but never fully address. This year (much like many before it) has been incredible for women in country music, but somehow we’re conditioned to believe there’s only ever room at the top for one queen at a time. This album Hello, Honky Tonk is riddled with Easter eggs, subtle callbacks, odes of admiration, and direct collaborations from females of all levels across country music over the years. Highlighted out of the gate by Lainey Wilson narrating the intro to the album.

If you’ve been living under a rock all year, allow me to bring you up to speed. A young woman named Ella Langley has absolutely dominated radio waves for over 365 days since the release of her single “Choosin Texas” in Oct 2025. Which basically brings us to today, where her recent tourmate and the ‘Choosin Texas’ music video antagonist Kaitlin Butts just dropped her new album Hello, Honky Tonk and, my god, it picks up right where Ella’s Dandelion left off, with Kaitlin’s own set of front-to-back hits that punch her ticket as a late contender for “Album of the Year.”

There’s another woman who can’t be overlooked that you may remember through all of this noise named Kacey Musgraves, who put out her most recent album Middle of Nowhere in May of this year. Giving us that second blow of a 3-punch combo of absolute knockout albums, behind Ella Langley’s Dandelion from April, housing the international hit Choosin’ Texas.

So what’s a fan to do? Are you an ‘Ella Fella’, a ‘Butts Guy ’, or a ‘Musgraveteer’ in this recent era and wave of recognition being showered upon these women?

I think it’s high time we stop dedicating one pedestal for women or the single seat they’ve been allocated year after year, providing fans this illusion of choice for an “it girl,” and build a bigger fuckin table to pull up some additional chairs. The fact that I’m even writing this and using these three women as the most relevant example is part of the problem… they’ve all been doing this a long long time, and surprise, the rest of their catalogs will also knock your necks back.

Women are different than men in this industry. They’re the first to thank their influences, mentors, fans, and… their peers. Reaching their hands down to help pull each other up and share in the opportunity to be heard, seen, and appreciated. This is nothing new, and groups like The Chicks, Pistole Annies, and The Highwomen have laid a great foundation for women supporting women. The only thing that’s changed is the ability for musicians to take more ownership of their platforms outside or off of the stage, with social media being the largest vehicle that hardly existed even 10ish years ago. That, coupled with the luxury of streaming, allows us the access and ability to consume nearly endless 3.5 minute songs throughout our 24-hour days, and not be confined by the physical limitations of the grooves in a vinyl record or edges of a CD.

Some might tell you that Kaitlin is the new girl on the block. But I encourage you to take a trip back through her catalog and realize that she, like many artists, has been putting out gems since she began recording and that it was only a matter of time before being relentless evolved into her being recognized as truly undeniable. She lyrically lays it out, beginning way back in tracks like “Wild Rose” and “What Else Can She Do” to the most recent “What More Could You Want?”

To me, these three women are incredible examples of not only what it means to be unapologetically female in a male-dominated industry, but also great examples for championing talent in general. Talent is unconditional, whereas success, as we have come to know it, has been subjective and selected for us. It would be embarrassing not to state the fact in black and white that Kacey, Ella, and Kaitlin are not the first or even the loudest women to hold this court.. but they are (in my opinion) the first to recognize and fully own the combined power of social media, streaming, and world tours to not only lower the barrier of entry for women in music, but also enhance the longevity and staying power for the women who have come before them or been alongside them throughout their individual careers.

There are roughly 100,000 songs uploaded to streaming services every single day in all genres by all genders and identities. You’re not going to always catch every single Shelby Stone, Alicia Blue, Anna Graves, Kat Hasty, Maggie Antone, or the other countless newer named talents who are bubbling just under the surface of mainstream attention. This isn’t only about those women either; it is just as important for the women like Bri Bagwell, Courtney Patton, Jamie Lin Wilson, Lori McKenna, Sierra Hull, Amanda Shires, Ashley Monroe, Nikki Lane, and many maaaaany more who were breaking barriers and laying these foundations just before the massive wave of streaming and social media began dominating our attention spans just a few years ago.. These are some of the best live acts money can buy, and you can find a lot of these women on the same lineups or festival bills at the types of venues Kaitlin Butts is paying homage to in her new album.

I bet at this point you didn’t think that this was still an article about Hello, Honky Tonk… but it is. This album will organically get you to listen to more music by female artists; you’ll likely make the easy jump to Ella Langley and Kacey Musgraves, but as you start to like and save those songs you’ll be exposed to more and more until you end up on your next favorite female artists that no one has ever heard of… yet.

Share Her Links. Save Her Albums/Songs. Go To Her Shows. Buy Her Shit. Champion Her.

The state of country music is always being held by at least one set of well-manicured fingers, but the table is growing, and these women are bringing their friends.

Pull up more chairs... and don't forget the flowers.