Ashley McBryde: Country ‘Girl Goin’ all the way
It likely wasn’t a conscious attempt at tough love, but the high school teacher who poured cold water on high school student Ashley McBryde’s dream of a career as a songwriter motivated more than muted her.
“When I was back in algebra class,” she says, “we were going around the room saying what we wanted to do when we grew up. When it got to me, I said, ‘I’m going to move to Nashville and write songs and they’re going to be on the radio.’ The teacher looked at me and said, ‘That won’t happen and you better have a good backup plan.’ ”
Those words fueled the take-no-prisoners attitude she brandishes so effectively in a song that grew out of that memory, “Girl Goin’ Nowhere,” which she shared with fans at Nashville’s venerable Grand Ole Opry when she reached that fabled stage last year. She performs at the Ryman Auditorium, the Opry’s original home, in February with singer Luke Combs.
“When the lights come up/And I hear the band/And where they said I’d never be is exactly where I am. … Not bad for a girl goin’ nowhere.”
In “Fat and Famous,” she channels some of the same righteous indignation Taylor Swift tapped in “Mean” when she spits fire at a naysayer from long ago: “You got fat, I got famous/Ain’t that funny how it changes/You made fun of me for years/I get paid to play my songs.” The song is on her independently released 2016 album Jalopies & Expensive Guitars.
It’s evident that the Mammoth Spring-raised singer and songwriter throws her lot in with the school of gutsy country artists that includes Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves and Brandy Clark, among others, but which traces its lineage all the way back to “Fist City” firebrand Loretta Lynn.
She has earned the respect of Eric Church, who has called her a “whiskey-drinkin’ badass,” and Hank Williams Jr., while scoring opening slots on tours with latter-day mavericks such as Church and Chris Stapleton. She’s on tour with Combs. McBryde has received country radio airplay with her recent single, “A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega.”
In September, McBryde signed with Warner Bros. Records. Her debut album for the label is due later this year, under the guidance of respected producer Jay Joyce, who has produced recordings by Emmylou Harris, Church and Clark.
McBryde is generating national buzz for her songs and performances.
Rolling Stone magazine listed her as one of the “Artists You Need to Know,” describing her as having “the swagger of Hank Jr. and the songwriting of Miranda Lambert.” National Public Radio critic Ann Powers said McBryde could be “among the first post-Stapleton country stars.” In addition, The New York Times named “A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega” among its best singles of 2017 and Rolling Stone country named it to its Best Country Singles of 2017 list.
McBryde also has won over Stacy Vee, Goldenvoice’s director of festival talent, who has her lined up to play at the promoter’s Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio, Calif., in late April.
“I booked her as soon as I saw the footage online of her first performance at the Opry,” Vee said. “You can see how much it means to her. She’s real and genuine. It’s all about her voice and the words and the songs. I’m so proud we have her coming to Stagecoach.”