Miranda Lambert is gearing up to get back into the full swing of her music career after an extended break from the road due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In an interview during the run-up to the 2021 ACM Awards, the country superstar says she's got new music coming, and she's "ready to roll" on a full-scale tour.

"I'm working on a record," Lambert confirms to Taste of Country.

She's also got a run of shows booked at Billy Bob's Texas in late April and some casino and festival appearances on her official calendar, but Lambert says her team is "routing for a tour" as pandemic restrictions ease and more acts have begun to announce full-scale tours for later in the year.

"I'm hoping," she says. "The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round. I'm crossing my fingers. I'm ready to roll."

Lambert has a new collaboration out with Elle King titled "Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home)." The pair are slated to open the 2021 ACM Awards with the song on Sunday night (April 18).

She's also set to release a joint project with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall titled The Marfa Tapes, which consists of raw acoustic tapes that the three songwriters and friends have recorded over the years during their songwriting retreats to Marfa, Texas. That album is set to drop on May 7.

Lambert says that project might not have seen commercial release in a normal year.

"I don't think I would have gotten to do that if there wasn't a break in the normal sequence of things," she muses. "Sometimes you write a bunch of songs that just disappear into this abyss of work tapes and demo land or whatever. And I think this year, people are ready to hear different types of versions of songs from artists they may already follow, or not. But I think last year gave me the freedom to do that."

Lambert is nominated five times in the 2021 ACM Awards, which will air live on CBS and stream live on Paramount+. Sign up for the streaming service here.

2021 ACM Awards Nominees: The Full List

Maren Morris and Chris Stapleton lead all 2021 ACM Awards nominees with six each and Miranda Lambert has five, including Female Artist of the Year. Thomas Rhett and Ashley McBryde will be up for four ACM awards on April 18. The CBS broadcast will award trophies for Entertainer, Song and Album of the Year, in addition to Duo and Group of the Year. This is a list of all ACM Awards nominations for 2021.

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