Julianna Rankin signs on Miranda Lambert’s label, song featured on “Landman”

A former Shiner graduate has been making some strides in her music career. 
Julianna Rankin, a member of the class of 2014, has signed into country music star Miranda Lambert’s label, Big Loud Texas, welcoming the Shiner native to its growing roster of artists rooted in tradition while pushing the genre forward. 
The announcement arrives alongside Rankin’s label debut, “Bad Habits and Good Horses,” which was featured in the season finale of Landman on Paramount +.
Rankin said she has loved music her whole life and loved to sing. She grew up around all kinds of music, and her parents were big music fans themselves; however, music became more than a hobby for her when she was in college at Texas A&M. 
“I decided to pick up a guitar after going to a karaoke bar on North Gate with a bunch of friends,” Rankin said. “I decided I wanted to learn to play guitar and, a couple years later, I learned to write songs. 
Through the process of all that, I found out I wasn’t half bad at it. It was my dad and my mom’s idea to give me the notion to take it more seriously. My grandpa was in a band throughout the 70s and early 80s. It’s always been in me but I didn’t figure it out until later in life.”
Rankin said growing up in a small town has in part shaped the way she writes songs and sees the world. Even transitioning to playing in bigger cities, she said she still manages to find inspiration on her life growing up in small towns like Shiner. 
“I’ve always been so proud to say I grew up in Shiner, and I have so many great friends there that’s taught me so many lessons,” Rankin said. “Shiner has already been on the map with the beer industry. Music wise, it’s always been known for polka music and country music is something cool to bring to the table. It’s really great to tell people I’m from Shiner, Texas.”
Lambert’s parents found Rankin after her parents saw her at a music festival in Key West. “They put a bug in her ear about me,” Rankin said. “She followed along for the last couple years and liked what she saw. She invited me to Austin to hang out for the weekend. We hung out and got to know each other and talked about music and life. 
We just realized we got along really well and we’re kindred spirits. She loved my style of songwriting and the sound of my voice and we hit it off. From what she told me, she saw a lot of her younger self in me. I’m really grateful for all of her direction.”
“I’ve called the whole experience cosmic. It feels like all the pieces have fallen together. I grew up listening to Miranda, she’s always been a hero of mine as well as Jon Randall who is another head of our label. He’s always been a songwriting hero of mine. It’s crazy how the stars have aligned perfectly. Everything that has needed to happen has happened and I’ve been very lucky in that regard.”
In a press release from Lambert’s record label, Lambert stated that Rankin’s voice stood out when she heard her. “She is country, she is soul, and has one of those voices that you’ve heard your whole life, yet never heard quite like hers before,” Lambert said. 
“Fresh and familiar. I can’t wait for the world to get to know her through her songs because her spirit shines through with every lyric she writes.” 
Rankin stood on stage with Lambert in Oklahoma and was able to sing with her at the show. Being on Lambert’s label has reminded Rankin to stay true on her music approach. “That’s being honest and being relatable with who’s listening to my music,” Rankin said. “Writing from a state of emotion that transcends through everything. The whole goal is to write music that is relatable. I write a lot from personal experience.”
Rankin said writing for the show Landman was more technical. The music director of the show put on a “sync writing camp.” “The music director gave us key points on what the scene was about and gave us a lot of freedom to let us run with it,” Rankin said. 
“They found a good spot for my song ‘Bad Habits and Good Horses’ in the season finale. Landman is one of my favorite shows so to have a song in it is really cool. 
The scene in which is used is very interesting. It was very fitting for the scene.”
Rankin was featured recently in Rolling Stones magazine for the success she’s been having. “That was awesome,” Rankin said. 
“I was so pleased and happy to be talking with Josh Crutchmer at Rolling Stone country.”
The whole crew on Lambert’s label has become family to Rankin. 
“I knew I would develop a relationship with Miranda and Jon, but I never expected the quality of friendship I would find in all of them,” Rankin said. 
“Miranda is like an older sister that I’ve never had and always wanted. She’s been incredible as a mentor and as a friend and as a sister. Jon is the same, he’s like a brother to me and they treat me as family. 
Some people say ‘don’t meet your heroes,’ but I think you should just in case they turn out the way mine have because they’ve been incredible to me.”
Rankin will be touring soon. A couple of tours will be starting in February through June.
She said fans can also expect new music coming soon including a new single that will come out in a couple of months. 
“I’m also working on a new record, so be on the look out because it won’t be too long until things start rolling out,” Rankin said.
This will be Rankin’s debut record. She does have an EP out called “Top Shelf.” Rankin wants to thank her hometown for raising her. 
“It’s been such a pleasure to know everybody from Shiner and Gonzales,” Rankin said. 
“To have grown up there is such a gift because not everybody gets to grow up with people like that and have friends that you can have for a lifetime and a built-in support system. 
I’m grateful for everybody who has stayed so close with me and my family.”