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Las Vegas Strip resident Miranda Lambert takes pride in her music and her platform

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Miranda Lambert
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It’s been one big week after another for Miranda Lambert. Just before making a return to her Velvet Rodeo residency show on the Las Vegas Strip, the 39-year-old singer and songwriter was nominated for four Grammys, one in each country music category.

Now she gets to celebrate with six concerts at Planet Hollywood’s Zappos Theater during National Finals Rodeo week.

“I’m super-excited about it, because those are my people,” Lambert tells the Weekly. “I have done [one-off shows] in Vegas during NFR before, playing at different casinos, and it’s special, because it’s like anyone who has loved anything we sing about is in town for 10 days. It’s awesome. I’m really happy the residency falls within this time.”

It’s no coincidence, of course. Country acts have long stormed Vegas venues during December’s rodeo takeover, and the genre’s cumulative success on the Strip has generated more demand for residencies. Lambert’s is the latest addition, following recent openings of shows from Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan.

“I went through a lot of stages—panic and other weirdness,” she says of launching the show in September. “I’ve been touring since I was 17, but this definitely is something different. It’s a leap, but I talked to a lot of people beforehand who have done residencies, and got some insight on how it feels, and I trusted that. But it was a ton of work to put it together, a cool creative process and a sh*t ton of rehearsals.”

While other new-to-Vegas artists have gone over-the-top with hi-tech production elements, Lambert decided to create “a giant honky-tonk on steroids” at Zappos Theater. “I grew up playing those bars all over Texas. A honky-tonk is where I feel at home. So there’s not a lot of bells and whistles, but it’s still Vegas and we had to change it up.

“Of course you want to have some pyro and confetti,” she continues, “but it still feels like me and the music, and everything else is built around that.”

That approach keeps her close to her fans, which is just as meaningful to Lambert as the nominations. At the February 5 Grammy Awards, she’ll be up for Best Country Album for April’s Palomino, Best Country Solo Performance for “In His Arms,” Best Country Song for “If I Was a Cowboy,” and Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Outrunnin’ Your Memory” with Luke Combs.

Palomino—proclaimed one of the year’s top albums by Rolling Stone, Billboard, Stereogum and others—is one of Lambert’s most collaborative efforts to date. “It’s my first time writing with Luke Combs, and here we are with a Grammy nomination. And ‘In His Arms’ is one of my favorite projects I’ve ever done, which I wrote with my two best friends [Jack Ingram and Jon Randall],” she says.

“If I Was a Cowboy” earned Lambert additional acclaim for challenging gender conventions, continuing her own brand of musical activism; last year’s release “Y’all Means All” also pushed the boundaries in the traditionally conservative world of country with its upbeat message of inclusivity.

Lambert, who says she has gained a greater understanding of her platform and what she can do with it in recent years, has also advocated for animal adoption through her MuttNation Foundation. One dollar from every ticket sold to the residency show goes to that organization.

But it’s the human issues that have been in the spotlight recently, for better and worse within the country community, and Lambert says she’s comfortable speaking her mind through her music.

“I didn’t realize how much impact I could have, but when I’ve spoken up, I use music, and I think that’s what I’m supposed to do,” she says. “I’m lucky to have that platform, and I’ll do anything I can to help positive change and support humans being humans, whatever that means for everybody.

“There’s something special about country music, because we’ve always been a family, a community. I’m hoping we can continue to grow and be more open, to have different opinions but not let it cause a divide.

“At the end of the day, we are singers and songwriters, and we can use that to get our point across without being ugly. That’s what I try to do.”

MIRANDA LAMBERT: VELVET RODEO December 3-4, 8 & 10-11, 8 p.m., $109-$350. Zappos Theater, ticketmaster.com.

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Brock Radke

Brock Radke is an award-winning writer and columnist who currently occupies the role of managing editor at Las Vegas Weekly ...

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