Brittany Howard
Howard performing withAlabama Shakes in London, 2016
Background information
Birth name	Brittany Amber Howard
Born	(1988-10-02)October 2, 1988 (age 36) Athens,Alabama, U.S.
Genres	Americana garage rock experimental rock[1] roots rock[2]
Occupation	Musician
Instruments	Vocals guitar piano drums bass
Years active	2009 (2009)–present
Labels	ATO Island
Formerly of	Alabama Shakes Bermuda Triangle Thunderbitch[3]

Brittany Amber Howard (born October 2, 1988^[4][5]) is an American musician fromAthens, Alabama. She rose to prominence in the early 2010s as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary songwriter ofAlabama Shakes. Her work with Alabama Shakes garnered her fourGrammy Awards (includingBest Alternative Music Album) from nine nominations. Later in the decade, Howard played bass in the side projectThunderbitch and both acoustic guitar anddouble bass for the trio Bermuda Triangle.^[6]

In 2018, Alabama Shakes announced it was going on hiatus. In 2019, Howard released her debut studio album as a solo artist,Jaime. The album received critical acclaim and seven Grammy nominations, winningBest Rock Song for "Stay High". Its follow-up,What Now, was released in February 2024. In early 2025, Alabama Shakes announced a summer reunion tour scheduled for July to September.^[7]

Howard was born inAthens, Alabama,^[8] one of two daughters born to Christi (née Carter) and K. J. Howard.^[9] Her mother is white, of English and Irish ancestry while her father is African American.^[10] The family's home was in a junk yard and it once burned down due to a lightning strike.^[11] She learned to write poetry and play the piano from her older sister Jaime, who died fromretinoblastoma in 1998; Howard had the same affliction but survived with partial blindness in one eye. Her parents separated soon after that.^[12] She began playing the guitar at age 13;^[13] she was enamored with albums byDionne Warwick andElvis Presley, which she listened to repeatedly, and was inspired to write song lyrics.^[9]

Howard attendedEast Limestone High School, where she met futureAlabama Shakes bassist Zac Cockrell.^[13] In high school, Howard began listening to 1970s rock music, such asBlack Sabbath andPink 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, likeYes,Cream, all that stuff."^[9]

After high school, Howard worked for theUnited States Postal Service until becoming a full-time musician as lead singer of Alabama Shakes.^[14]

Brittany Howard is best known as the lead singer and guitarist for the American rock bandAlabama 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 inAlabama and recording their debut album,Boys & Girls. They signed a record deal withATO Records and releasedBoys & Girls in 2012 which received critical acclaim and multipleGrammy Award nominations.^[14]

In April 2015, Alabama Shakes released their second album,Sound & Color. It debuted at number one on theBillboard 200,^[15] and received favorable reviews from the music press.^[16] The band performed on multiple late night shows includingSaturday Night Live,The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, andThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Howard was featured in the musical medley alongsideMavis Staples,Stephen Colbert,Ben Folds, and other artists in the series premiere ofThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert.^[17] AtLollapalooza in 2015, Howard was invited on stage to perform a duet of "Get Back" withPaul McCartney.^[18] She also performed at the ceremony for Eddie Murphy's Mark Twain Prize.^[19] In 2015, she was named the recipient of Billboard's Women in Music "Powerhouse" Award.^[20]

Howard is also the lead singer of the rock band Thunderbitch, formed inNashville 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.^[21] Although the band rarely makes live appearances, they played a rare set at ATO Records' CMJ Music Marathon showcase in October 2015.^[22]

Brittany Howard is also a singer in the band Bermuda Triangle with Jesse Lafser andBecca Mancari, which was formed in Nashville in 2017.^[23] Their debut live performance was on July 12, 2017, at the Basement East in Nashville.^[24] 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".^[23] 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.^[25] This small tour included shows inCarrboro andAsheville, North Carolina;Birmingham, Alabama;Atlanta; andKnoxville, Tennessee.^[25]

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.^[26]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."^[27] On July 16, 2019, Howard released the music video to the singleStay High, featuring actorTerry Crews lip-syncing to the track.^[28] On April 15, 2020, she released a cover of aFunkadelic's 1971 song "You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks" and a new rendition of her song "Stay High".^[29]Stay High was recommended as an "appropriate musical remedy" to get people through lockdown and quarantine byKRCW.^[30] On October 13, 2023, she released the title track to her second albumWhat Now. In the same year,Rolling Stone named Howard to its "250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" list.^[31]

In 2024, Howard announced a co-headlining tour with Britishrhythm and blues singer-songwriterMichael Kiwanuka.^[32]

Howard made her acting debut in the animated filmThelma the Unicorn, which debuted onNetflix May 17, 2024. Howard's personality, hair, and songs were all used as inspiration for her character in the film.^[33]

In late November 2024, Howard announced the debut of herhardcore project KUMITE. KUMITE were scheduled to play their first show inNashville, in January 2025.^[34]

Howard has cited as influences artists includingLed Zeppelin,^[35]Sister Rosetta Tharpe,Prince,Curtis Mayfield,David Bowie,Mavis Staples,Tom Waits,Björk,Gil Scott-Heron,Freddie Mercury, andTina Turner.^[36]

Howardcame out as alesbian at age 25. She married fellow musician Jesse Lafser in 2018; they divorced the following year.^[37][38]

• Boys & Girls (2012)
• Sound & Color (2015)

• Thunderbitch (2015)

• Official website

• 1988 births
• African-American guitarists
• African-American rock musicians
• African-American rock singers
• American women rock singers
• American people of English descent
• American people of Irish descent
• ATO Records artists
• Living people
• LGBTQ people from Alabama
• American lesbian musicians
• Singers from Alabama
• People from Athens, Alabama
• American rock guitarists
• Grammy Award winners
• Guitarists from Alabama
• 21st-century American women singers
• 21st-century American women guitarists
• 21st-century American guitarists
• American LGBTQ singers
• African-American LGBTQ people
• 21st-century American singers
• 20th-century American LGBTQ people
• 21st-century American LGBTQ people
• African-American women musicians
• 21st-century African-American women singers
• 20th-century African-American musicians
• 20th-century African-American women
• Island Records artists
• American musicians with disabilities
• Singers with disabilities

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