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MUSIC PEOPLE
NEWS
JULY 2026 Volume 57 Number 07 Issue 677
Editor Kelly Gregory
Contributors David Allan, Janet Aspley, Donnie Ayers, Craig Baguley, Jonny Brick, Chris Brown, Tony Byworth, Rosie Carter, Don Cusic, Larry Delaney, Julie Flaskett, Marshall Gardener, Michael Hingston, Stan Hitchcock, Tony Ives, Sianna King, Spencer Leigh, John Lomax III, Bryce Martin, Adrian Peel, Paul Riley, Chris Smith, Tom Travis, Walt Trott, Dan Wallace, Dave Watkins, Jack Watkins
New release consultant Steve Tidbury
Photographers Patricia Presley, Barry Dixon
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THE HIGHWOMEN TURN REUNION INTO LIVE RELEASE EVENT
On May 29, The Highwomen surprise released Live at The Gorge 2023, a 20 track live set through its official store and streaming platforms. The official product page identifies it as a recording from the band’ s 2023 Gorge reunion and notes special guest appearances by Allison Russell, Brittney Spencer, and Tanya Tucker. Two days later the group headlined the final night of Brandi Carlile’ s Echoes Through the Canyon weekend, a May 31 appearance.
What has made this reunion all the more spectacular is its heady combination of nostalgia and momentum. The framing was unusually direct with the band stating that the original Gorge show was“ so magical” that it had to become a live record. MusicRow and other music outlets positioned the release as a meaningful re-entry point for a group whose cultural significance has often outweighed its limited release cadence. The story here is not that new product is out now but how a supergroup can reassert its relevance through curation, memory, and carefully timed visibility rather than a conventional album campaign.
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