Ashley McBryde is a name you’ve probably been hearing a lot more frequently in the world of country music. The Arkansas native has been making waves since her debut on country radio back in October 2017 as the most added new artist and most added female with her single, ‘A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega.’ The single hit No. 1 on SirusXM’s The Highway Top 30, and Ashley made her television debut performing the song on Late Night with Seth Meyers in January. Her raw, honest lyrics and rockin’ sound has won the hearts of countless fans, and McBryde’s talent has been advocated by some of the genre’s biggest names. She’s had the opportunity to share the stage with artists like Willie Nelson, Hank Williams Jr., Chris Stapleton, and Eric Church who’s referred to Ashley as a “whiskey drinking badass.” She also caught our attention as we named her one of our Artists to Watch in 2018 for all of the above reasons and then some. We’ve already watched her find great success with her debut single, and now we’re patiently waiting for Ashley’s debut album, set to be released on March 30th.
The record, titled ‘Girl Goin’ Nowhere,’ features 11 songs and was produced by Jay Joyce, who’s had success working with artists like Eric Church, Brandy Clark, and Little Big Town. “Working with Jay Joyce is like working with a mad scientist, in the coolest way,” McBryde raved. She described how Joyce has the ability to take songs that Ashley and her band already loved and bring a new life to them. “He’ll just make this one little tweak that changes everything about the song and it takes it from being a good song to a great song, or from a great song to an icon that you can wrap an identity around.” Of the 11 songs on the record, McBryde had a hand in writing each and every one. “There’s a few different groups of writers. Nicolette Hayford is a writer on a bunch of them. We produce really well and we’re not afraid to hurt each other’s feelings in the writing room, or in life. Jeremy Bussey is a co-writer on ‘Girl Goin Nowhere,’” she said, adding that they actually wrote that song the day they met. “Ever since, he’s continued this theme of being able to talk to you for about an hour and make you cry, and then when he sees that, whatever that is, that string that tugs in your gut when your throat tightens up and you think you’re going to tear up, he can see that – or smells it I’m not sure which one – then he goes for it like a great white.” And as intense as it sounds, McBryde insists that it makes for great songwriting. Not to mention it’s “cheaper than therapy,” she laughed. “And sometimes you get to drink beer while you do it, too!”
Having a strong personal connection to her songs makes it all the more rewarding when she see reactions and gets responses from her fans. For McBryde, it’s worth more than any chart success. Ashley shared a couple incredible stories that have had a particularly strong impact on her. One was an email from a guy in South America who had been in a bad car accident, “I think it was a hip he broke and he had collapsed both lungs,” McBryde explained. “And he said, ‘When I was able to speak and they took tubes out and I asked my nurse what is that song she had been humming, and it was your song. So I downloaded it and I’ve been listening to it and it’s been helping me through my recovery to keep my head focused on healing.’” Another story started with a simple Snapchat from a young girl, Ashley recalled. “She snapped me and said, ‘Hey, your song saved my life.’ So I snapped back and was like, ‘What do you mean? How did my song save your life,’ and she texted back and said, ‘I was listening to your song and it kept me from taking a phone call from my abusive ex,’” Ashley told us. “To have real proof of a real human being that those words impacted them in a moment of vulnerability, that is insane.” It’s one (very good) reason Ashley will always remain true to herself in her music.
Staying genuine is important both lyrically, in the stories McBryde tells, and in the music itself. Ashley’s style has often been compared to artists like Miranda Lambert and Chris Stapleton. “It’s good company to be in. If you’re going to lump some artists together to put Miranda and Stapleton and me in the same group, I’ll take it. I’m really admirers of both,” she said. But when putting this album together, the sound of the end result actually kind of surprised her. “It’s got a little bit more rock and roll than even I expected to come out on this record,” she said, making her own comparison to the Southern Rock sound of the Allman Brothers. “Southern rock doesn’t really exist anymore and I would not classify this as southern rock, but a little more on the rock side of country.”
Ashley’s music is undoubtedly a far cry from the light and bubbly pop-country we hear so frequently coming through our radio airwaves – but that’s okay. “There’s a lot of people that are angry at pop country and I did my fair share of hating on it, but I don’t begrudge anybody for success. It’s not my cup of tea but I get why it works,” she explained. “Then I started thinking, we have this really good representation of female pop, and we have this weird hick-hop-rap thing… where is my Joan Jett? Where is my Pat Benatar? If we’re going to represent those we can represent this too … The way it’s going right now, country music is really taking on this task of blurring genre lines.” She referenced Zac Brown’s (incredibly awesome) project, Sir Roosevelt, “It’s so well done and well produced and well written, it should absolutely be played on country radio. All we have to do is build a bigger table and pull in more chairs. There’s absolutely room for all of it inside this genre.”
Ashley’s success so far is proof of that. She has a handful of shows lined up, including dates across the pond and an opening slot for some Miranda Lambert shows ahead of her ‘Girl Goin’ Nowhere’ release on March 30th. With everything she’s already accomplished, it’s hard to imagine anything but a successful career for Ashley McBryde. We can’t wait for the album and we can’t wait to see where this girl goes.
You can follow Ashley on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Ashley’s album, ‘Girl Goin’ Nowhere’ is available for pre-order here.
Main Photo Credit: John Peets