Natalie Stovall Joins Runaway June to Replace Hannah Mulholland

Singer-songwriter and fiddle player Natalie Stovall has joined Runaway June, keeping the band a trio. The artist and her new bandmates, Naomi Cooke and Jennifer Wayne, made the announcement on Friday morning (May 15) on the Bobby Bones Show.

The news of Stovall's addition to Runaway June came one day after Hannah Mulholland announced her departure from the country trio. Neither Mulholland nor her former bandmates indicated that their split is due to any sort of falling out; Cooke explains that Mulholland simply wanted to be in California with her family and husband Ian, whom she married in 2018.

"We talked about being a duo and talked about what that meant, and we just really loved the three-part harmony," Cooke shares of how she and Wayne determine Runaway June's next step forward. Their options, as they saw them, were to remain a duo or to invite Stovall to join the group; they never considered anyone else.

"It's extremely exciting. I really am honored," Stovall says. "I know that one of my favorite ways to create music is in a group setting and with band members. I mean, there's really nothing like it."

Stovall, a Tennessee native, has worked as both a solo artist and as the leader of Natalie Stovall and the Drive. The band was previously signed with Warner Bros.; in fact, Wayne used to rep Stovall when she was working on the other side of the industry.

Stovall was a contestant on The Voice's 13th season, joining Blake Shelton's team before being eliminated in the playoffs. She admits that, despite her time in bands (she's also performed with radio DJ Bones, as part of his group the Raging Idiots), being in Runaway June will be a change for her.

"I've always been surrounded by dudes," she says, adding that Cooke and Wayne's invitation to join Runaway June "was a really left-field ask," but once she "adjust[ed] my focus to it," it made perfect sense.

Runaway June have already started thinking about their next album, they say, and are ready to "start making music and making noise as soon as possible." Their next project will follow 2019's Blue Roses.

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