The next episode of The Big Interview with Dan Rather will see the legendary journalist interview musical power couple Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires. The new episode will premiere tonight, Wednesday, May 5th at 8 p.m. ET on AXS TV.
In a promotional clip shared on Monday, Rather discusses Shires’ Grammy-winning country music supergroup, The Highwomen. A modern take on The Highwaymen—which combined outlaw country superstars Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson—Shires noted that the group goes beyond trying to bring more women into the spotlight and has its sights set on elevating the level of songwriting in mainstream music.
“I miss good songs,” Shires said. “And the voices of folks like Waylon Jennings. And when I think back about my musical heroes and how few were women, we had Cindy Walker, and Dolly Parton, and Loretta Lynn, and all that. And I was like ‘why don’t we just try to do that,’ and shine some light and try and make the lanes a little wider.”
Related: Jason Isbell Shares Live “Overseas”, “Dreamsicle” From NYE Stream With The 400 Unit [Watch]
Isbell has experienced his own tribulations as a prolific singer-songwriter who has received minimal attention from mainstream outlets. Rather than becoming bitter toward a culture that tends to overlook genuine songwriting in favor of catchy hooks, Isbell instead joined Shires in trying to create a piece of work that cannot be ignored.
“[Quality songs] exist, but they’re not put into the mainstream the way they used to be,” Isbell chimed in. “I think we were trying to put some quality in the mainstream, and you know, people are still making the most beautiful, incredible, poignant, poetic music ever, they just aren’t getting heard very much. Because there’s a whole lot of music out there and there are still a lot of gatekeepers. And what I saw her attempting when she was working on these songs and on this record was ‘let’s make something so good that they have no choice but to play it.'”
Check out a preview from the new episode of The Big Interview with Dan Rather featuring guests Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires. The new episode airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on AXS TV.
Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires On Making Mainstream Music Good | The Big Interview
[Video: AXS TV]