Brittany Amber Howard (born October 2, 1988) is an American musician from Athens, Alabama. She rose to prominence in the early 2010s as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary songwriter of Alabama Shakes. Her work with Alabama Shakes garnered her four Grammy Awards (including Best Alternative Music Album) from nine nominations. 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.
Howard was born in Athens, Alabama, one of two daughters born to Christi (n茅e 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 due to 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.
Brittany Amber Howard (born October 2, 1988) is an American musician from Athens, Alabama. She rose to prominence in the early 2010s as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary songwriter of Alabama Shakes. Her work with Alabama Shakes garnered her four Grammy Awards (including Best Alternative Music Album) from nine nominations. 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.
Howard was born in Athens, Alabama, one of two daughters born to Christi (n茅e 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 due to 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.