Could award-winning country and pop artist Maren Morris be leaving country music? New music and a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times indicates so.
In a post to X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, Morris said her new two-track EP “The Bridge” honors where she’s been, but also a forward step into the sun.
Her new music video for “The Tree” is filled with numerous symbols representing various moments in the star’s career. The video opens with a shot of Morris lying down wearing the dress she wore to the 2016 Country Music Awards, an awards show she said she didn’t feel comfortable attending in 2022 following a feud with with Brittany Aldean, wife of country singer Jason Aldean.
The music video explores a miniature town featuring a sign that reads, “Welcome to our perfect small town,” making a reference to Jason Aldean’s widely discussed, controversial song, “Try That in a Small Town.” Also seen in the music video are miniature “Don’t tread on me” and “Go woke go broke” yard signs.
The release of the EP coincides with Morris’ 10-year anniversary of moving to Nashville.
In the interview, Morris said the country music industry is unwilling to own up to its history of racism and misogyny and to be more accepting of women, queer people and people of color.
“I thought I’d like to burn it to the ground and start over,” she said to the Los Angeles Times. “But it’s burning itself down without my help.”
Morris has never been one to shy away from being vocal about her progressive beliefs. She has been a loud supporter of LGBTQ+ rights and gender-affirming health care in a state where the two are often met with pushback.
‘Tennessee, f—— arrest me’
Morris was one of the multiple artists who performed in the “Love Rising” benefit concert for LGBTQ+ causes. The event was organized in response to two pieces of legislation that aimed to ban gender-affirming health care and “adult-oriented” drag performances in public spaces.
Morris shared that prior to the show, she took her 3-year-old son to soundcheck, allowing him to meet drag queens backstage.
“And yes, I introduced my son to some drag queens today,” said Morris. “So Tennessee, f—— arrest me.”
Morris capitalizes on ‘lunatic’ comment
In August 2022, Brittany Aldean posted a video to Instagram saying, ‘I’d really like to thank my parents for not changing my gender when I went through my tomboy phase. I love this girly life.”
Morris responded to Aldean’s statement on X, saying it was easy to “not be a scumbag human.”
This was sufficient ammo for conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson, who labeled Morris a “lunatic.“
Morris took the insult as a badge of honor, turning the words into a slogan that she printed on T-shirts to raise money for transgender causes.
Diana Leyva covers breaking and trending news for The Tennessean. Contact her at Dleyva@gannett.com or follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @_leyvadiana