Miranda Lambert makes return to Spokane

Miranda Lambert set the country music world aflutter this week when she dropped a major hint on social media that her super trio, Pistol Annies, will have new music out soon.

The Instagram photo featured a blank page, a pen, the neck of her guitar and a glass of wine. The caption? “I sing (and write … and drink) in the shower. #andsoitbegins #music #maybepistolannies #songstarts #acoustics.”

Neither Lambert nor the other Annies, Ashley Monroe and Angeleena Presley, have confirmed the news. Still, that didn’t stop the country internet from going bonkers.

“Country Music Needs That New Pistol Annies Record, and Here’s Why” wrote Wide Open Country, while Taste of Country already proclaimed it one of their 13 most anticipated country albums of 2018. (And they don’t even know if it’s really happening!)

First things first, however. Lambert has a new tour that hits Spokane Arena on Friday.

She’s returning to town for the first time since 2015 on the “Livin’ Like Hippies” tour in support of her now double-platinum, double-disc 2016 release “The Weight of These Wings.” It’s a record that hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart – that’s albums of all genres. It won album of the year from the Academy of Country Music and was critically regarded as one of the best country releases of 2016. It even earned a positive review from the music website Pitchfork.com, an outfit more likely to review the latest from Car Seat Headrest, First Aid Kit or Ghostface Killah than anything out of Nashville.

(Reviewer Sam Sodomsky wrote, “Although it arrives in the wake of her high-profile divorce from Blake Shelton, ‘The Weight of These Wings’ is a breakup album refreshingly devoid of spite or anger. Instead, it’s a thoughtful concept record, more focused on moving on and growing up than lashing out or telling all.”)

In concert, the Texas-born Lambert, 34, is a popular and well-established draw. In a review of a show last month in Atlanta, the Atlanta Constitution Journal noted, “Whether swinging through the fan favorite ‘Pink Sunglasses,’ with serrated guitar strokes from her band, or jerking the tears from ‘Over You,’ Lambert was never anything less than sincere.”

Beyond music, Lambert is a noted animal lover. She adopted her first dog, Delilah, after volunteering at an animal shelter. She co-founded, with her mother, Bev, the nonprofit MuttNation, which works to save the lives of shelter animals.

To coincide with her Spokane concert, Lambert has partnered with SCRAPS. At other concert stops across the country, fans are urged to “Fill the Little Red Wagon” with pet supplies for local animal shelters. This being Spokane, fans and animal lovers are urged to come out today – Thursday – to “Fill the Red Wagon” – as in the iconic giant red wagon in Riverfront Park – from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. On Friday, SCRAPS will be set up outside the Arena to collect dog and cat food, litter, toys and beds for homeless and abandoned animals. That drive begins at noon and will collect donations until the concert begins.

“I always try to combine my two passions which are music and mutts. I’ve gotten to meet some amazing people that run shelters in the communities where we perform, and I always love connecting with other dog-loving fans,” Lambert said in a news release about the program.