“I’ve got my hands on ten and two, no need to worry,” Amanda Shires says as she steers my 2011 Ford Escape Hybrid around the wide, modestly trafficked streets of Lubbock. The critically acclaimed musician is back in her hometown for a brief visit that includes a reception at Texas Tech University, where she’ll be recognized as a distinguished alumna. Tomorrow she’ll play an intimate show at the Cactus Theater, where she’ll perform songs from her new solo album, an unsparing and deeply personal record that addresses the end of her high-profile marriage. For Shires, who has lived in Nashville for years, returning here even for a weekend is a chance to re-center herself as she prepares to sing publicly about one of the worst periods of her life. Outside the studio, though, she wears it all li

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