Two years after a life-threatening horseback riding accident, Ashley McBryde says she’s still not ready to get back on a saddle. While walking the 2023 ACM red carpet, the “Lights On In The Kitchen” singer told Taste of Country that she’s been focusing on her health and being extra cautious.
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The platinum-selling performer was forced to postpone a string of shows in 2021 after she was propelled from a horse in Montana. McBryde landed on her head, which knocked her unconscious. The vocalist was rushed to a local emergency room, where she was diagnosed with a concussion and needed a handful of stitches to “close” her scalp.
The following year, her bandmate Wes Dorethy got into a UTV accident. The instrumentalist had to undergo emergency surgery. After a difficult few months, the band has prioritized looking out for one another.
“We’re taking better care of each other and better care of ourselves,” McBryde told the outlet. “Since we started doing those things on purpose—it’s not like we were crappy to each other—we started being more mindful about it, then I became a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and then I won a Grammy, and then we headlined RodeoHouston. All these amazing things, all this hard work that we’ve been putting in all these years, has started paying off.”
As an award-winning group, they stay far away from dangerous activities to prevent any accidents that can hinder their flourishing career.
“I was just like, ‘Wow, that was so bad. It was so bad,'” she recalled. “We have to take better care of ourselves. So, right now no one’s riding as much as a scooter. No ATVs, no skateboards, no horses.”
Although the accident significantly impacted her tour due to terrible vertigo, she revealed that it also affected her songwriting process. McBryde explained that she now has a refreshing and optimistic perspective on life after they were granted another chance.
“Songwriting-wise, it feels sort of like you can walk into the room knowing no matter what we create today, the thing that I wanted to be when I grew up, I am,” she uttered. “So, even if we don’t get a song today, I’m so happy about who we are and the season that we’re walking into.”
The singer-songwriter is back in action. She previously supported Wynonna Judd on her final tour, performed her smash hit “Brenda Put Your Bra On” at the ACM Awards from her critically acclaimed album Lindeville, and is expected to appear alongside Jelly Roll and Tanya Tucker on the road this summer. For upcoming tour dates, visit HERE.
Photo by Katie Kauss / Essential Broadcast Media
