NBC Television\/Courtesy of Getty Images<\/span><\/p> Comedy at the Opry was, in some ways, the genre’s early answer to the television sitcom: The clueless husband, the embittered wife, the spinster who can’t seem to land a “feller” and the everyday hardships that unfold over the course of it all.<\/p>\n That brand of comedy was a lynchpin of some major male-female duos, too, both on stage and in the studio. Dolly Parton<\/a>‘s time on Porter Wagoner<\/a>‘s show was where she developed the signature Dolly-isms and delivery that would go on to be a hallmark of her solo career.<\/p>\n Loretta Lynn<\/a> and Conway Twitty<\/a> cracked jokes about rural Southern tropes and stereotypes in songs like “You’re the Reason Our Kids Are Ugly,” and in her solo material,\u00a0Lynn used humor to lighten a serious topic (women’s reproductive freedom) in “The Pill” and “One’s On the Way.”<\/p>\n Even heartbreak queen Tammy Wynette<\/a> used irony in her George Jones<\/a> duet, “Two Story House,” to illustrate the disconnect of a fraught marriage.<\/p>\n Using humor gives\u00a0artists\u00a0an inroad into topics that\u00a0are\u00a0otherwise taboo.<\/p>\n Elizabeth Nichols uses humor for a fresh take on talking politics in “Might Go MAGA,” a song that speaks to the\u00a0common and under-discussed phenomenon of a woman who’s more left-leaning than her male partner, but is willing to sacrifice some moral high ground to keep a comfortable lifestyle and not cause a ruckus in her relationship.<\/p>\n \u201cI love a boat \/ And when that wind blows \/ I won\u2019t hear him talkin\u2019 \u2018bout the Mexicans and how we should pray for \u2018em \/ Right before he says, \u2018We should deport \u2018em\u2019,” <\/em>she sings.\u00a0It\u2019s funny, but pointed. Could a straightforward, earnest song be that thorny?<\/p>\n A sitcom-style delivery even makes it easier to write a song about, say, killing\u00a0an abusive husband \u2014 which female country artists have done\u00a0a lot<\/em> over the years.<\/p>\n Read More<\/em>: Earl Had to Die: The 20 Best Country Songs About Killing Your Man<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n But with longstanding inequalities for women in country music and beyond \u2014 plus the statistic that nearly three\u00a0out of 10 U.S. women have experienced rape, physical violence and\/or stalking by a partner<\/a> \u2014 is it really just a joke?<\/p>\n In late April,\u00a0Audiofemme<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>published an article about the rise of an all-genre interest in country music, headed by Ella Langley<\/a>‘s juggernaut hit “Choosin’ Texas.”<\/p>\n Even more recently than that, Kacey Musgraves<\/a>‘ very funny\u00a0Middle of Nowhere\u00a0<\/em>album had a strong debut on the charts<\/a> including a No. 3 placement on the\u00a0Billboard<\/em> 200.<\/p>\n Audiofemme\u00a0<\/em>cited a 2015 APA study<\/a> which found that female country artists (particularly older female country artists) fare better on charts during difficult socioeconomic years. Specifically, their uptempo songs were more popular. That’s a contrast to pop music, where ballads from male artists ranked higher during those difficult years.<\/p>\n The survey hypothesized that country music’s base, which trends more working class than pop listeners, preferred “happier sounding songs” from “comforting female figures, like the wives and mothers portrayed in country songs,” as a form of “catharsis” during hard times.<\/p>\n It’s a reasonable guess, but we’ll take that speculation in a slightly different direction.<\/p>\n More than half of country music fans are women \u2014 52 percent, per a 2011\u00a0Billboard<\/em> report<\/a>. Instead of looking to the genre for a comforting maternal voice, they might be looking for a voice that matches their own.<\/p>\n Carter Faith <\/a>\u2014 another 2026 Taste of Country RISER<\/a> \u2014 embraced comedy on her breakout debut album\u00a0Cherry Valley<\/em>, as a component of something bigger, stranger and sadder.<\/p>\n Read More<\/em>: Carter Faith Talks About Her Sad, Surreal\u00a0Cherry Valley<\/em> Album<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The project’s got a sense of humor. Just listen to “Grudge,” a song about a friendship fight that includes the “slightly blasphemous” line, “Even Jesus thinks that you’re a b–ch.<\/em>“<\/p>\n “I guess it just goes back to showing all different sides of a woman,” she reflects to Taste of Country about the jokes she cracked in those lyrics.<\/p>\n And then she added drily, “And that a woman can be funny. What a concept.”<\/p>\n Humor, on\u00a0Cherry Valley<\/em>, is\u00a0one part of a larger, conscious decision to allow the record to\u00a0take up more emotional space than is typically allotted for a woman, both musically and beyond. Faith jokes that people tell her “every day” that she’s “too much,” and in a sense, the whole record is a supersized response to that criticism.<\/p>\n Its lead single, “If I Had Never Lost My Mind…” takes the crazy ex-girlfriend trope (which is often used to comedic effect) and maxes it out. This ex-girlfriend is\u00a0so<\/em> crazy, in fact, that the lyrics sound like she might be singing them from a psych ward. “Who wants a girl who’s a little deranged \/ A little too much and a little too strange?<\/em>” Faith wonders.<\/p>\n Apparently, the ACM Awards do.\u00a0Cherry Valley<\/em> was nominated in the coveted Album of the Year category in 2026, marking Faith’s first nomination.<\/p>\n Read More<\/em>: 25 Modern Female Trailblazers Who Changed the Country Music Game<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n When I asked Faith and Nichols if they’d ever thought about toning down their musical instincts to avoid being “too much,” they had the same response: An unequivocal\u00a0nope<\/em>.<\/p>\n Being funny as a woman in country means being unabashed about taking up space in the genre. It means writing for yourself and for the\u00a0listeners \u2014 the female listeners, largely \u2014\u00a0that get it. It means\u00a0delivering some of your most poignant lyrics with a sideeye.<\/p>\n For a group of artists\u00a0that has\u00a0historically been minimized and given strict guidelines for what they can and can’t say, humor is a powerful tool. And even better \u2014 the uptick in popularity of comedy-driven female country, on charts and beyond, proves it’s working on a global scale.<\/p>\n Gallery Credit: Carena Liptak<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
Women Thrive On the Country Charts During Tough Economic Times<\/b><\/h3>\n
Carter Faith Proved That Female-Led Comedy Can\u00a0Get Awards Show Recognition in 2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n
25 Modern Female Trailblazers Who Changed Country Music<\/h2>\n