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‘Palomino’ Primer: Your Guide to Miranda Lambert’s 8th Studio Album

Miranda Lambert will release her 8th studio album, Palomino, on April 29. The upcoming 15-song offering represents Miranda’s first solo release since 2019’s Wildcard. And with just days to spare before it drops, we’ve got a Palomino primer, with everything you can expect from the new album, including three sonic samples.

Track List & Songwriters

  1. Actin’ Up (Miranda Lambert, Luke Dick, Jon Randall)
  2. Scenes (Lambert, Dick, Natalie Hemby)
  3. In His Arms (Lambert, Jack Ingram, Randall)
  4. Geraldene (Lambert, Ingram, Randall)
  5. Tourist (Lambert, Dick, Hemby)
  6. Music City Queen feat. The B-52’s (Lambert, Dick, Hemby)
  7. Strange (Lambert, Dick, Hemby)
  8. Wandering Spirit (Mick Jagger, James Rippeto)
  9. I’ll Be Lovin’ You (Lambert, Dick, Randall)
  10. That’s What Makes the Jukebox Play (Lambert, Dick, Hemby)
  11. Country Money (Lambert, Aaron Raitiere, Mikey Reaves)
  12. If I Was a Cowboy (Lambert, Jesse Frasure)
  13. Waxahachie (Lambert, Ingram, Randall)
  14. Pursuit of Happiness (Lambert, Dick, Hemby)
  15. Carousel (Lambert, Dick, Hemby)

Fast Fact: Miranda co-penned 14 of the 15 songs on Palomino. The only exception? Track 8, “Wandering Spirit,” which was penned by Mick Jagger and Jimmy Rip. Jagger recorded the track on his 1993 solo album of the same name. Miranda’s version includes background vocals from Sarah Buxton and The McCrary Sisters.

Album Title

Palomino gleaned its title from the chorus of its opening track, “Actin’ Up.”

I want a sunset ride / A velvet rodeo / A Colorado high/ A California glow/ I want to see the desert / From a painted palomino / Señorita need to have a little fun / I’m actin’ up.”

Fast Fact: Miranda Lambert’s upcoming Las Vegas residency is titled Velvet Rodeo, which is also from the chorus of “Actin’ Up.”

Miranda Co-Produces

Miranda Lambert co-produced the album with Jon Randall and Luke Dick. Both Randall and Dick are longtime collaborations.

Of course, Randall recently teamed with Miranda and Jack Ingram to record the 2021 album, The Marfa Tapes. He is also one of the songwriters behind Miranda’s Platinum-certified single, “Tin Man.”

Luke Dick, who has nine songwriting credits on Palomino, co-penned tunes on Miranda’s 2016 album, The Weight of These Wings (“Highway Vagabonds” and “Pink Sunglasses”), and 2019 album, Wildcard (“White Trash,” “Bluebird,” “Pretty Bitchin’, “Mess With My Head,” and “Settlin’ Down”).

Fast Fact: The project was recorded at Blackbird Studio in Nashville.

Album Origin

“The making of this record has been one of the most fun and creative experiences of my career,” said Miranda Lambert. “Luke Dick, Natalie Hemby, and I went out to my farm in Tennessee in 2020 and started writing songs. We figured while we have time let’s get out to the country and see what happens. The first one we wrote was ‘Tourist’ and that set us on a path to create something with a bit of a theme. Since we couldn’t travel at the time, we decided to go on a journey through songs. I hope y’all are ready to travel with us wandering spirits and meet some cool characters with great stories.”

Fast Fact: In addition to co-penning seven songs on the upcoming album, Natalie Hemby lends her background vocals to the project.

Miranda Lambert’s Featured Act

The B-52’s are featured on Track 6, “Music City Queen.” The New Wave band, which burst on the scene in 1979 with songs like “Rock Lobster” and “Planet Claire,” scored a couple of Top 10 hits with “Love Shack” (1989) and “Roam” (1990).

“Unthinkable things coming together,” said Miranda Lambert. “When Natalie Hemby, who is such a badass singer and the kind of person who raises the cool in every room, started singing ‘Rollin’ on the river…,’ we were all like, ‘What if The B-52s sing on this?’ They loved the song. They Zoomed in with Luke and Jon and sang their part, which gives me so much joy. I missed their Zoom, ’cause I was on a plane, but to Zoom The B-52s into your record? Yes, please.”

Fast Fact: The B-52’s will launch a U.S. farewell tour this summer.