Miranda Lambert on Being Forced Off the Road: ‘It’s Uneasy’

When Miranda Lambert first found out that she had to come off the road from her Wildcard Tour, she wasn’t too upset. The Texas native had just wrapped up her Roadside Bars & Pink Guitars Tour before launching the Wildcard Tour, and was ready for a bit of a break. But now, heading into her fifth month at home, Miranda admits she is struggling with the uncertainty.

“The first month I had a lot of fun,” Miranda told New York’s 94.7 radio station. “Well, not fun but I was like, ‘OK, we’re off. We’ll probably be back on the road in a couple of months.’ I cooked too much and ate way too much, and then I had to roll that back a little bit.

“There’s stuff to do,” she added. “It’s just the adjusting of not knowing when I’m going to work again. It’s uneasy.”

When asked what she missed the most about not being on tour, Miranda knew exactly how to answer.

“The fans and the feeling,” Miranda maintained. “I guess nothing made me realize that more than singing into a screen, which I absolutely hate. I just can’t do it. I started this career 18 years ago for that feeling, not for my Zoom call. I just can’t do it.”

There have been a few bright spots while self-quarantining, including a road trip with her husband, Brendan McLoughlin, in their new Airstream, The Sheriff, and celebrating her first No. 1 hit in eight years, with “Bluebird.”

“I obviously couldn’t have predicted that, but I feel like I’m glad that this was the single at the time that it was because it is a song of hope,” Miranda said of the song’s success. “It has kind of a dark feel but still hopeful which is kind of how we all feel right now. Also, I haven’t had a Top Five in six years, so it’s nice to kind of have a little punch in there. It feels good.”

Miranda opened up about the success of “Bluebird” on social media, admitting it was a bright spot in an otherwise challenging season for her.

“2020 hasn’t offered a whole lot to celebrate, especially for musicians,” Miranda reflected on social media. “But I am celebrating this week. I’m celebrating happiness and the feeling of artistic freedom in a time where we all feel a little caged. I’m celebrating country music and all the joy it has brought to my life. I’m celebrating ALL the fans, the writers, the musicians, the crews, and bands, radio and streaming services, venues big and small for allowing me to have the most wonderful career for the last 17 years. ‘Bluebird’ is officially a number one song. It’s been eight years since I had a number 1 on the Billboard charts and six years on Mediabase.

“I have spent my life doing what I love and I feel more blessed and humbled than ever to have this song of hope resonate with you all,” she continued. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart. And thank you to Luke Dick for allowing me to write this beautiful idea with you and to Natalie Hemby (my Dean Dillon ) for bringing it home. Also Jay Joyce for bringing it to life and giving it wings, Trey Fanjoy for setting this bluebird free in the most beautiful video. And my management Marion Kraft / Shopkeeper MGMT and Sony Nashville for fighting for this song and for me. Turns out we did have a wildcard up our sleeve.”