Brittany Howard

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 and as a solo artist have garnered her five Grammy Awards (including Best Alternative Music Album) from 18 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 (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.

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.

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.