Brittany Howard

Later in the decade, Howard played bass in the side project Thunderbitch and both acoustic guitar and double bass for the trio Bermuda Triangle. 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, winning Best 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.

• Name — Brittany Howard • Birth Name — Brittany Amber Howard • Born — 2 October 1988 • Birthplace — Athens, Alabama, U.S. • Occupation — Musician • Instrument — * Vocals • guitar • piano • drums • bass • Genre — * Americana • garage rock • experimental rock • roots rock • Years Active — 2009–present • Label — * ATO • Island • Current Member Of — Alabama Shakes • Past Member Of — * Thunderbitch • Bermuda Triangle • Website — brittanyhoward.com

Howard was born in Athens, Alabama, one of two daughters born to Christi (née Carter) and K. J. Howard. Her mother is white, of English and Irish ancestry while her father is African American. The family's home was in a junk yard and it once burned down from a lightning strike. 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. She began playing the guitar at age 13; she was enamored with albums by Dionne Warwick and Elvis Presley, which she listened to repeatedly, and was inspired to write song lyrics. Howard attended East Limestone High School, where she met future Alabama Shakes bassist Zac Cockrell. 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." After high school, Howard worked for the United States Postal Service until becoming a full-time musician as lead singer of Alabama Shakes.

• Illustration — Howard performing with Alabama Shakes in 2014 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. In April 2015, Alabama Shakes released their second album, Sound & Color. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, and received favorable reviews from the music press. The band performed on multiple late night shows including Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Howard was featured in the musical medley alongside Mavis Staples, Stephen Colbert, Ben Folds, and other artists in the series premiere of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. At Lollapalooza in 2015, Howard was invited on stage to perform a duet of "Get Back" with Paul McCartney. She also performed at the ceremony for Eddie Murphy's Mark Twain Prize. In 2015, she was named the recipient of Billboard's Women in Music "Powerhouse" Award. • Illustration — 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. Although the band rarely makes live appearances, they played a rare set at ATO Records' CMJ Music Marathon showcase in October 2015. Brittany Howard is also a singer in the band Bermuda Triangle with Jesse Lafser and Becca Mancari, which was formed in Nashville in 2017. Their debut live performance was on July 12, 2017, at the Basement East in Nashville. 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". 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. This small tour included shows in Carrboro and Asheville, North Carolina; Birmingham, Alabama; Atlanta; and Knoxville, Tennessee. • Illustration — Howard talking about her new album at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in January 2024 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. 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." On July 16, 2019, Howard released the music video to the single Stay High, featuring actor Terry Crews lip-syncing to the track. 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". Stay High was recommended as an "appropriate musical remedy" to get people through lockdown and quarantine by KCRW. 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. In 2024, Howard announced a co-headlining tour with British rhythm and blues singer-songwriter Michael Kiwanuka. 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. In late November 2024, Howard announced the debut of her hardcore project Kumite. Kumite played their first show in Nashville, in January 2025. In 2024, Howard co-wrote an original track with Ludwig Göransson, Pale Pale Moon, which was prominently featured in Ryan Coogler's film Sinners. Both Howard's original demo and the movie version performed by actress Jayme Lawson are featured on the soundtrack album. On October 3, 2026, Howard will perform at the Power to the People Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD. The festival, which is being put on by Tom Morello, will also feature performances by Morello, Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters and many others. The festival is being held in response to President Donald Trump.

Howard came out as a lesbian at age 25. She married fellow musician Jesse Lafser in 2018; they divorced the following year. She has been in a relationship with Anna-Maria Babcock (Anya) since late 2022, or early 2023.

• Artist — Brittany Howard • Studio — 2 • Ep — 4 • Singles — 16 • Option — 1 • Option Name — Remix albums

List of studio albums, with selected information • Title — Details — Peak chart positions • US — AUT — BEL (FL) — BEL (WA) — CAN — FRA — NL — SCO — SPA — UK • Jaime — *Released: September 20, 2019 *Label: ATO *Formats: CD, LP, digital download — 13 — 59 — 29 — 159 — 34 — 182 — 76 — 13 — 98 — 36 • What Now — *Released: February 9, 2024 *Label: Island *Formats: CD, LP, digital download — — — — — 75 — — — — — — — — — 45 — — — — • "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

• Title — Details — Peak chart positions • US Current • Jaime (Reimagined) — *Released: July 23, 2021 *Label: ATO *Formats: LP, digital download, streaming — 71

• Title — Details — Peak chart positions • US Sales — US Folk • Spotify Singles — *Released: April 15, 2020 *Label: ATO *Formats: streaming — — — — • Live at Sound Emporium — *Released: August 29, 2020 *Label: ATO *Formats: LP — 51 — 20 • Jaime (The Remixes) — *Released: September 17, 2020 *Label: ATO *Formats: Digital download — — — — • Live from East West Studios — *Released: May 7, 2021 *Label: ATO *Formats: Digital download — — — —

• Title — Year — Peak chart positions — Album • US AAA — US Adult R&B — US Alt. Dig. — US Rock — BEL (FL) Tip — CAN Rock — MEX Air — NLD Air — NZ Hot • "I Wonder" (with Ruby Amanfu) — 2012 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single • "History Repeats" — 2019 — — — — — — — — — — — — — 49 — — — — — Jaime • "Stay High" — 1 — 23 — 24 — 34 — 22 — — — 50 — 41 — — • "He Loves Me" — 2020 — 28 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "You'll Never Walk Alone" — — — — — 12 — — — — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single • "Stay High again.." (with Joy Anonymous and Fred again..) — 2021 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Jaime (Reimagined) • "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" (Amazon Original) — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single • "Presence" (Little Dragon Remix) — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Jaime (Reimagined) • "Tomorrow" (BadBadNotGood Remix) — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Checks and Balances" (from the Netflix series We the People) (with Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Robert Lopez, and Daveed Diggs) — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single • "Stay High" (Childish Gambino remix) — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 36 — Jaime (Reimagined) • "Running with the Angels" (with Tia P.) — 2022 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single • "What Now" — 2023 — 1 — — — — — — — — — 30 — — — — — — — What Now • "Red Flags" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Prove It to You" — 2024 — 29 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Power to Undo" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

• Title — Year — Album • "Higher" (Thad Cockrell featuring Brittany Howard) — 2020 — If In Case You Feel the Same

• Title — Year — Peak chart positions — Album • US Sales • "It Makes No Difference" (My Morning Jacket featuring Brittany Howard) — 2012 — 11 — Endless Highway - The Music of the Band

List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name • Title — Year — Other artist(s) — Album • "For You Alone" — 2011 — Matt Stephens — Matt Stephens • "West on Train" — 2013 — Turk Tresize — Soul Casino • "Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am" — My Morning Jacket, Merrill Garbus — Red Hot + Fela • "I Feel Free" — 2015 — Joy (Music from the Motion Picture) • "Darkness and Light" — 2016 — John Legend — Darkness and Light • "Higher" — 2020 — Thad Cockrell — If In Case You Feel The Same • "Shining Star" — 2022 — Verdine White — Minions: Rise of Gru (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) • "Fire Inside" — 2024 — Thelma the Unicorn: Soundtrack From The Netflix Film • "Walk of Fame" — 2025 — Miley Cyrus — Something Beautiful

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

• Thunderbitch (2015)