Miranda Lambert Named Official “Texas State Musician” for 2025
Lindale, TX native Miranda Lambert is officially the Texas State Musician, Non-Classical” for 2025 according to the The Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA), and the Texas State Legislature. The designation “honors individuals who have demonstrated exceptional excellence in their artistic disciplines.”
The Texas State Musician serves as the state’s highest recognition for artistic achievement and provides artists with statewide recognition and opportunities to participate in TCA events and promotions. The appointments are one-year terms, and artists are selected based on nominations submitted by the public, which are then reviewed by an evaluation panel.
The final selections are made by the Texas Poet Laureate, State Musician, and State Artist Committee, composed of members appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the Texas House of Representatives.
Along with being one of the most awarded artists in country music history by the CMA and ACM Awards, Miranda Lambert is one of the most recognized performers in all of country music, with a career now spanning 25 years.
Most importantly though, Miranda Lambert has recently become critical to Texas creating its own independent music industry, so Texas musicians don’t always have to venture to Nashville to find label representation. In November of 2023, Miranda Lambert founded Big Loud Texas with songwriter and producer Jon Randall. The label has since signed native Texans Dylan Gossett and Jake Worthington.
Earlier this week, Big Loud Texas opened the “Big Loud Texas House” in Austin as a multi-functional space housed in a historic home built in the late 1800s. Not only will it be used for the daily operations of Big Loud Texas, it is being made available for the Texas creative community to use as a collaborative space for meetings, songwriting sessions, showcases, etc. This speaks to how Miranda Lambert is helping to create Texas as an alternative to Nashville.
Miranda Lambert’s last album Postcards From Texas (2024) marked a return to her Texas roots, and Lambert recently collaborated with up-and-coming Texas artist Hudson Westbrook on the song “House Again.”
The Texas legislature meets every two years, so the next two years of Texas State Musicians are selected simultaneously. The Texas State Musicians for 2025-2026 are officially:
Miranda Lambert – 2025 TEXAS STATE MUSICIAN-NONCLASSICAL
Alecia Lawyer – 2025 TEXAS STATE MUSICIAN-CLASSICAL
Norah Jones – 2026 TEXAS STATE MUSICIAN-NONCLASSICAL
Ana Maria Martinez – 2026 TEXAS STATE MUSICIAN-CLASSICAL
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May 31, 2025 @ 12:38 pm
Norah Jones is a good pick, an embodiment of the musical meltingpot that Texas is.
She’s excellent in every genre she tries, probably because she understands them, rather than spewing out whatever a producer puts in front of her.
If only we had more of those artists these days. Norah, Katie Melua, even Amy Winehouse… they sounded fresh and vital with their “retro” style.
June 11, 2025 @ 12:34 am
To each his own, but to me her voice coulda done wonders for purposes of crowd dispersal, that is, were thousands of me rioting in Los Angeles.
May 31, 2025 @ 3:52 pm
Wish Amy hadn’t joined rock’s “27” club.GREAT singer and goodness knows what treasures she’d have given us were she still with us.The crazy ex-girlfriend is really good,though.
May 31, 2025 @ 4:29 pm
So good to see her looking to prop up Texas musicians. Time to sign her first Texas female. I can think of a very worthy candidate…… Grace Tyler. You all knew it was coming from me. Same as knowing Bones is gonna shout out Jeremy Pinnell anytime he gets a chance.
June 2, 2025 @ 1:11 pm
by jeremy pinnell do you mean the guy that rips and is finally putting out new music for the first time in 4 years? because if so yeah he rips
May 31, 2025 @ 5:43 pm
Hi Miranda lambert
My name is lela ann Thompson
How are you today I like your song
May 31, 2025 @ 7:44 pm
A good decision. TX has so many true country artists. More than Nashville.
June 1, 2025 @ 10:31 am
Nashville never cared about the music. It’s all about money.
June 1, 2025 @ 11:51 am
It never used to be like that, but times sure have changed to some degree.
June 1, 2025 @ 12:24 pm
I ALWAYS STAY WITH THE TRIED AND TRUE….NORAH SHE IS THE TOTAL PKG. THE BEST IN ALL AREAS.
June 1, 2025 @ 5:29 pm
Because Texas has LOTS more cowboys and cowgirls than Nashville.
June 6, 2025 @ 10:24 am
didn’t realize Norah Jones was from Texas. I’d like to see her get the Little Willies back together.
June 7, 2025 @ 2:53 pm
Gangbang? Kinky.