Since Ashley McBryde arrived on the mainstream country scene in 2018 with her exquisite debut album, Girl Going Nowhere, she proved she was going to be a force in the genre with a voice worth listening to. She’s maintained that stature with her equally compelling follow-up albums, Never Will, and the clever concept project Lindeville. But it was a long road to get there. Below, we look at the artist behind the crisp voice and the journey she took to the top.
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Early Years
McBryde was raised in the small town of Saddle, Arkansas, which proved to be formative, as she was exposed to music by titans ranging from Kris Kristofferson to The Carpenters who helped shape her into the songwriter she is today. She got her first guitar at the age of 12, her teen years proving to be pivotal for her future career, as evidenced by the fact that her breakthrough hit, “Girl Goin’ Nowhere,” was inspired by a condescending remark made by her teacher discouraging her musical aspirations.
Dive Bar Days
Long before she was a rising country superstar, McBryde cut her teeth in dive bars in her hometown and the surrounding areas. For more than a decade, McBryde hustled for gigs in biker and trucker bars that helped shape her into the enduring performer she is today.
“There were 35 bikers who could give a damn if there’s anybody playing [music] or not,” she explained to NPR. “That was my testing ground for material, stage presence, and jokes. If you could catch the attention of these—my mother would call them ruffians, even though bikers are the sweetest demographic in the world—if you can make a bar that doesn’t care pay attention, then whatever you did, keep going in that direction and start to use that as your barometer.”
[RELATED: 4 Songs You Didn’t Know Ashley McBryde Wrote For Other Artists]
Breakthrough in Nashville
Though she’d been hustling for a decade, McBryde made her breakthrough in Nashville with a little help from Eric Church. Her 2016 EP, Jalopies & Expensive Guitars, caught his attention, particularly the song “Bible and a .44.” Church was so impressed that he invited her to perform the song with him at his arena show in Chicago in 2017. Her song quickly won over fans and industry folk alike and helped secure her a record deal with Warner Music Nashville.
Mainstream Success
The singer found mainstream success with her critically acclaimed 2018 debut album, Girl Going Nowhere, which was introduced with the lead single, “A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega,” and the title track that demonstrated her sharp songwriting sensibilities. It reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Country Album in 2019. Her 2020 sophomore album, Never Will, spawned the Top 20 single, “One Night Standards,” while the album itself cracked the Top 5 on the Top Country Albums chart.
McBryde proved her talents can’t be confined when she dropped the concept album, Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville, in 2022, which was centered around the cast of characters in the fictional town of Lindeville. The singer pulled in many of her singer-songwriter friends to help make it, including Brothers Osborne and Brandy Clark. She’s set to release her new album, The Devil I Know, in September 2023.
To date, McBryde has won two CMA Awards, and two ACM Awards and has been nominated for six Grammy Awards, having won for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Never Wanted to Be That Girl,” with Pearce in 2023.
Photo by Katie Kauss / Essential Broadcast Media
