Brittany Amber Howard (born October 2, 1988[4][5]) is an American musician from Athens, Alabama. She rose to prominence in the early 2010s for being the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and the primary songwriter of Alabama Shakes. Her work with Alabama Shakes garnered her four Grammy Awards (including Best Alternative Music Album) from nine nominations. Later in the decade, Howard played bass in the side project Thunderbitch as well as both acoustic guitar and double bass for the trio Bermuda Triangle.[6]
In 2018, Alabama Shakes announced they were going on hiatus. After the announcement, Howard released her debut studio album as a solo artist, Jaime, in 2019. The album received critical acclaim and earned her seven Grammy nominations, winning Best Rock Song for "Stay High". Its follow-up, What Now, was released in February 2024.
Early life
Howard was born in Athens, Alabama,[7] one of two daughters born to Christi (née Carter) and K. J. Howard.[8] Her mother is white, of English and Irish ancestry while her father is African American.[9] The family's home was in a junk yard and it once burned down due to a lightning strike.[10] She learned to write poetry and play the piano from her older sister Jaime, who died from retinoblastoma in 1998; Howard had the same affliction but survived with partial blindness in one eye. Her parents separated soon after that.[11] She began playing the guitar at age 13;[12] she was enamored with albums by Dionne Warwick and Elvis Presley, which she listened to repeatedly, and was inspired to write song lyrics.[8]
Howard attended East Limestone High School, where she met future Alabama Shakes bassist Zac Cockrell.[12] In high school, Howard began listening to 1970s rock music, such as Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd. "I’d be in the back of this Buick and be like ‘What's this? This is really cool’ and my friends told me it was Pink Floyd and I was like ‘Whoa’, it blew my mind. I started getting into all the classic rock stuff, like Yes, Cream, all that stuff."[8]
After high school, Howard worked for the United States Postal Service until becoming a full-time musician as lead singer of Alabama Shakes.[13]
Brittany Howard is best known as the lead singer and guitarist for the American rock band Alabama Shakes. The band formed under the name "The Shakes" when Howard and bassist Zac Cockrell began playing covers and original songs together with drummer Steve Johnson. Guitarist Heath Fogg later rounded out the lineup, and the band began playing shows at bars in Alabama and recording their debut album, Boys & Girls. They signed a record deal with ATO Records and released Boys & Girls in 2012 which received critical acclaim and multiple Grammy Award nominations.[13]
Brittany Howard performing with Alabama Shakes at Lollapalooza 2015
Howard is also the lead singer of the rock band Thunderbitch, formed in Nashville in 2012 with members of Clear Plastic Masks and ATO Records' labelmates Fly Golden Eagle. The band surprise released a self-titled album in September 2015.[20] Although the band rarely makes live appearances, they played a rare set at ATO Records' CMJ Music Marathon showcase in October 2015.[21]
Brittany Howard is also a singer in the band Bermuda Triangle with Jesse Lafser and Becca Mancari, which was formed in Nashville in 2017.[22] Their debut live performance was on July 12, 2017 at the Basement East in Nashville.[23] The trio released their first single on September 6, 2017, titled "Rosey", which was first released on Jesse Lafser's 2015 album "Raised On The Plains".[22] Although originally believed to be a one time performance, the trio performed a five show tour through the southern states of the US in October 2017.[24] This small tour included shows in Carrboro and Asheville, North Carolina; Birmingham, Alabama; Atlanta; and Knoxville, Tennessee.[24]
In June 2019, Brittany Howard announced a debut solo album, Jaime which was released on September 20, 2019, as well as a tour across North America and Europe.[25]Jaime was received with universal acclaim; Pitchfork noted, "The exceptional solo debut from the Alabama Shakes singer-songwriter is a thrilling opus that pushes the boundaries of voice, sound, and soul to new extremes."[26] On July 16, 2019, Howard released the music video to the single Stay High, featuring actor Terry Crews lip-syncing to the track.[27] On April 15, 2020, she released a cover of a Funkadelic's 1971 song "You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks" and a new rendition of her song "Stay High".[28]Stay High was recommended as an "appropriate musical remedy" to get people through lockdown and quarantine by KRCW.[29] On October 13, 2023, she released the title track to her second album What Now. In the same year, Rolling Stone named Howard to its "250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" list.[30]
Howard made her acting debut in the animated film Thelma the Unicorn, which debuted on Netflix May 17, 2024. Howard's personality, hair, and songs were all used as inspiration for her character in the film.[32]
In late November 2024, Howard announced the debut of her hardcore project KUMITE. KUMITE were scheduled to play their first show in Nashville, in January 2025.[33]
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