LOS ANGELES — Maren Morris knew the question was coming.
"OK, let's hear it," the country star said with a grin as she sat in her dressing room before a concert last week at the Santa Barbara Bowl. Morris, 32, had arrived in Southern California on tour behind the wise and tender "Humble Quest," which just scored a prestigious nomination for album of the year at November's Country Music Association Awards. Produced by Greg Kurstin (known for his work with Adele and Foo Fighters), Morris' third LP uses dreamy-rootsy arrangements to frame the singer-songwriter's thoughts on romance, ambition and — impossible to ignore since she gave birth to a son, Hayes, in early 2020 — the demands and the elations of motherhood.
Yet as eager as she may have been to discuss her album, which is also expected to fare well in nods for next year's Grammys, Morris understood that a different topic had put her in the news lately: her very public feud with a fellow country A-lister Jason Aldean and his wife, Brittany, over comments the Aldeans have made about young people seeking gender-affirming care.
