Carly Pearce Steps Into New Season Of Unflinching Honesty

By Kelly Fisher

Photo: Dove Shore

Carly Pearce is stepping into a season of unflinching honesty.

The Grammy-winning country star, 36, unveiled long-awaited details about her fifth studio record on Tuesday morning (June 23). Pearce will release her 16-track album, Honest Woman, on August 28. The project showcases the Kentucky-born artist’s wit and storytelling in her songwriting, and brings her back to traditional country and bluegrass elements that “shaped who I am,” she shared. So far, Pearce has released “Dream Come True,” “Church Girl,” “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay” with Riley Green, and “You Can Have Him” from Honest Woman. She debuted “She Don’t” on Tuesday in honor of the highly-anticipated album announcement.

“When I started making Honest Woman, I found myself rediscovering who I am and why I wanted to be a country music singer in the first place,” Pearce said in a statement. “This album takes me back to the beginning of my story, where the sounds of classic country and bluegrass music shaped who I am. I’m so proud of this body of work, and I truly feel like it’s my best yet.” The singer-songwriter added in a caption on Instagram, “sometimes finding yourself means finding your way back home. For me, it meant coming home...to my truth, my story, and the woman I am at my core. These songs tell that story. They hold pieces of my heart, where I come from, and the journey that brought me here. I’m so proud of this album and I can’t wait to share it with you.”

Honest Woman Track List

1. “Dream Come True”

2. “Church Girl”

3. “She Don’t”

4. “You Can Have Him”

5. “How Long”

6. “WWJD”

7. “Same Circus”

8. “Happy For Myself”

9. “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay” Carly Pearce & Riley Green

10. “I Don’t Have The Heart”

11. “He Don’t Like My Dogs”

12. “Leave My Heart Alone”

13. “Who’s Lying Here” Carly Pearce & Dan Tyminski

14. “Daisy”

15. “What If You Loved Me” Carly Pearce, Molly Tuttle & Dan Tyminski

16. “Why God Why Me”

“There’s a thing about arrival. It’s never what you think, or what you expect. It’s not glossy or jacked up. For me, arrival means coming home,” Pearce said in the album trailer she shared on Monday evening (June 22). “Honest Woman drops all the facades, the storylines protecting others, the person I was supposed to be, and dials into the woman I am at my core. My great-grandmother’s autoharp, her banjo that my Papaw played, the bluegrass sounds that were in my blood even before I was born. All of those things rising, shining, reminding me, and all of the people who lived in these songs with me. It’s honesty that delivers, truth that transcends. Honest Woman goes back to the roots, reaches beyond the drama, lifts up all the classic hard country, and delivers all the truth about love that any of us will ever need.”

Pearce, who has been dropping subtle hints about her next chapter, teamed up with longtime collaborator Ben West to co-produce Honest Woman. She previously said on an episode of Rolling Stone’s Nashville Now podcast, “he [West] just captured, to me, the essence of who I am. I kept going back to 29 because I feel 29 was me at my core. To me, this feels like 29: Part Two. And there’s a lot of layers to me that I don’t think people — I think they just assume, ‘oh, she’s the heartbreak singer,’ or ‘oh, she sings about divorce.’ Yeah, I do. But I also sing about a lot of things that women go through. 
Those parts of your story, they’re never gone. I don’t want to shy away from my story,” Pearce added later. “I’m evolving.” She confirmed on the podcast in February that her fifth record is “done,” and shared that she’d returned to “the origin of music for me.” that includes inspiration from Loretta Lynn, The Judds, Alison Krauss and other legendary artists. Honest Woman follows hummingbird, Pearce’s fourth studio album that released in June 2024. The project marked Pearce’s debut as co-producer, working alongside longtime collaborators Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne. She extended the record into a deluxe edition, hummingbird: no rain, no flowers, in March 2025.

Later this year, Pearce will kick off her intimate “Honest Woman: Up Close” live performances, taking the stage for back-to-back nights in major cities across the U.S. The first show is set for Thursday, September 10 in Detroit, Michigan, and the tour will span through Thursday, October 22 with a performance in New York City. Belle Frantz will join Pearce on the run of shows. Tickets are available to the general public beginning at 10 a.m. local time on Friday (June 26). Scroll to find the list of tour stops below, and listen to “She Don’t” here:

CARLY PEARCE - “HONEST WOMAN: UP CLOSE” ROUTING

Thursday, September 10 – Detroit, MI – Saint Andrew’s Hall*

Friday, September 11 – Detroit, MI – Saint Andrew’s Hall*

Wednesday, September 16 – Chicago, IL – Joe’s on Weed*

Thursday, September 17 – Chicago, IL – Joe’s on Weed*

Friday, September 18 – Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line*

Saturday, September 19 – Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line*

Sunday, September 27 – Los Angeles, CA – The Troubadour*

Tuesday, September 29 – Los Angeles, CA – GRAMMY Museum

Thursday, October 15 – Toronto, ON – Toronto Opera House*

Friday, October 16 – Toronto, ON – Toronto Opera House*

Sunday, October 18 – Boston, MA – The Sinclair*

Monday, October 19 – Boston, MA – The Sinclair*

Wednesday, October 21 – New York, NY – Gramercy Theatre*

Thursday, October 22 – New York, NY – Gramercy Theatre*

*With support from Belle Frantz

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