Kelly Willis, Melissa Carper, and Brennen Leigh, three accomplished singer-songwriters who have forged their own unique lanes in country music, have joined forces as Wonder Women of Country. The power trio announced their forthcoming EP, Wonder Women of Country: Willis, Carper, Leigh, set for release on March 15th, and released their first single, “Another Broken Heart.”
“The first taste of the EP comes with ‘Another Broken Heart,’ a tears-in-her-beer honky tonky heartbreak song that Kelly Willis brought to the trio,” said Holler in their premiere. “[I]t’s exactly what you’d expect when these three icons of classic country cross the streams of their proton beams. Wonder Women of Country are the superheroes we’ve all been waiting for, ready to lead us in the fight for righteousness with strength, compassion and some damn fine country music.”
“This is a song I heard Monte Warden and Bruce Robison start writing in the other room,” Willis told Holler. “I was so smitten with the verse I heard, that I could not help getting all up in this song’s business. I wrote a bridge and chorus for it and the guys did not seem to mind that I crashed their party. It’s a classic crying in your beer heartbreak song with a kind of 70’s style country/pop feel. Misery loves/needs company.”
At the end of 2021, after serendipitously sharing bills separately several times, Willis approached Leigh and Carper about teaming up and playing some shows together. Wanting more than your standard songwriter-in-the-round arrangement, the three learned each other’s songs to create a more integrated, band approach. Those first few shows together were so much fun and so well-received that they decided to continue.
Wonder Women of Country have discovered that, together, their own individual superpowers come alive. (One of their superpowers is being able to find hidden treasures in any thrift or vintage store.) With Leigh playing lead guitar and mandolin, Carper on upright bass, and Willis playing rhythm guitar, they support each other’s distinctive original material with beautiful three-part harmonies.
“At every show, folks were asking if we had records together,” says Willis. “After months and months of that, we finally found a chance to go make one.”
Their forthcoming, six-song EP, Wonder Women of Country: Willis, Carper, Leigh, was recorded at Bismeaux on the Hill in Austin, TX in December of 2023. The EP, recorded at Bismeaux on the Hill in Austin, features two songs by each artist, including a couple of Carper/Leigh co-writes, and a reimagined version of John Prine’s “I Have Met My Love Today.” Each harmony-laden track captures the magic these three create night after night on the road.
Wonder Women of Country: Willis, Carper, Leigh is available for purchase on CD and vinyl HERE. Be sure to follow Wonder Women of Country at the links below for the latest news and updates.
