Parker McCollum Says Miranda Lambert Is a Good Friend Because ‘She’ll Call Me Out on My B.S.’ (Exclusive)

Miranda Lambert is a straight shooter with friend Parker McCollum.

On Wednesday, Nov. 20, McCollum caught up with PEOPLE on the 2024 CMA Awards red carpet and opened up about his friendship with the “Bluebird” singer — with whom he collaborated on the track “Santa Fe” from her new album, Postcards from Texas.

“I’ve been a fan of hers for a long time, and getting to sing with her on the CMAs is a dream come true,” McCollum, 32, tells PEOPLE of Lambert, 41.

At the awards show, McCollum took the stage with fellow country singers Lainey Wilson, Jamey Johnson, Chris Stapleton and Lambert for a George Strait tribute performance. McCollum and Lambert teamed up for “Troubadour.”

“She’s a good friend of mine now, and she’ll call me out on my B.S. — that’s when you know somebody’s your good friend,” he says of Lambert.

Reflecting on the highlight of his year, McCollum said getting to play a show with Strait in June was up there — along with collaborating with Lambert.

“Doing ‘Santa Fe’ with Miranda Lambert on her new album is another dream come true. I was writing down all the highlights of this year the other day and I love that… I forgot so much happened this year,” he concludes.

McCollum caught up with PEOPLE in May 2023, upon the release of his studio album Never Enough. At the time, he shared that he carried around a piece of advice from Lambert, who’s another Texas-born country star.

“One time, Miranda said, ‘You just need to slow down. You got what it takes to get there, but don’t try to get it all today,’ which is probably exactly what I needed to hear and probably still do [need to hear]. You can get caught up and lose your sense of patience at times. And so, for someone who’s a seasoned vet like she is and who has been around and done it on such a high level for so long, she knows what she’s talking about.”

At the time, he also said he dreamed of collaborating with her on a song — and working with Strait.

“I know that’ll never happen, he doesn’t do that!” he said. “But I’ll always kind of be holding out hope that it could happen maybe one day.”

Lambert released Postcards from Texas in September. McCollum was the only feature on the 14-track album, which she told PEOPLE she made in Texas.

“I made this record in Texas. I hadn’t made an album in Texas since I was 18,” Lambert said. “I went down to Arlyn Studios in Austin, and Jon Randall, who’s my bestie and co-writer and co-producer, we worked together a lot.”

She continued: “Just going home to Texas to make it felt really right for this new season and this new chapter. I signed with Republic Records … and this new team has just given me so much fire and inspiration, because it’s all about the music with them.”