Ashley McBryde Launches New Project: 'The Devil I Know'
Performs entire album live at Nashville listening party
When I started hearing rumblings about Ashley McBryde, it was around 2017 from singer/songwriter and founder of The Listening Room, Chris Blair. Then I was lucky enough to catch her performing one night at Listening Room. I was an instant fan and as I followed her rising career, I told everyone who’d listen: "She is the real deal and she writes real songs the way that Loretta did."
Soon after that, in 2018, Ashley released her amazing debut album, Girl Going Nowhere, followed by Never Will and the highly acclaimed concept project Lindeville.
Chris Blair knew the backstory of my schooldays and how they were a match for what Ashley had gone through with a lack of encouragement from her own schoolteachers. He introduced us on February 12th, 2020, at the BMI special event where Storme Warren was presented with the Ambassador Award. Ashley and I shared our stories and exchanged a hug and realized the "teachers who put us down and discouraged us" were probably kinfolk!
Then a few days later I attended Country Radio Seminar (CRS) where she performed at the Warner Music Nashville luncheon. When she sang "Girl Going Nowhere," I felt the past hit the present with a brick; out came the tears and I finally stopped crying a few minutes after she finished the song.
Which brings us to the present and the release of Ashley’s new album, The Devil I Know. Pre-add, pre-save here.
Nashville’s Analog at Hutton Hotel was the venue for a special concert/listening event for Ashley’s project. Warner Music Nashville Co-Chair & Co-President Cris Lacy welcomed the crowd and mentioned several accolades with which Ashley has been honored, including two CMA Awards, and two ACM Awards and nominations for six Grammy Awards, and a win for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Never Wanted to Be That Girl,” with Carly Pearce in 2023.
Ashley was part of the AIMP (Assoc. of Independent Music Publishers) Class of 2017. The other five classmates were Hannah Ellis, Ross Ellis, Michael Hardy, Daniel Ross and Sarah Turner – to give you an idea of what great company she was in..... It had been 10 years since Ashley moved to Music City.
“The New York Times calls her Country’s most down-to-earth songwriter,” said Lacy. “The LA Times [calls her] ‘one of Nashville’s most reliable and sophisticated songwriters’ and Billboard magazine has dubbed her ‘one of Country’s greatest storytellers without ever compromising.’ The Devil I know has already been named one of the most anticipated albums by New York magazine and the LA Times, while ‘Light On In The Kitchen’ landed on Rolling Stone's all-genre Best Songs of 2023 so far.”
Continuing her introductory remarks, Lacy said, “She has a song [on the album] called ‘Made For This’ and basically it says you’ve really got to want it. I think we all agree in this room, we don’t know one person who wants it more than Ashley McBryde. And we don’t know one person in this town that has earned her place as a legend already more than Ashley McBryde.”
The crowd roared their agreement and Ashley took the stage to perform the album The Devil I Know from beginning to the last note!
The Grand Ole Opry member kept the packed room entertained with her witty one liners and her revealing backstories about each song. Ashley shared stories of her early gigs from biker and trucker bars to music venues that helped shape her into the enduring performer she is today.
“When it was time to put together The Devil I Know, my band and I did what we always do: got together in the purple building in East Nashville, played through a bunch of songs and discussed where we wanted it to go,” said Ashley. “We decided to take all the things that people tend to give us a hard time for and turn it up."
The room was full of family, friends, label staff and industry members to celebrate her highly anticipated album. The Devil I Know will hit all platforms on September 8th.
More about Ashley McBryde at her website, on Instagram and Twitter. Check out her YouTube channel here. Pre-add/pre-save The Devil I Know here. #AshleyMcBryde #TheDevilIKnow
The Devil I Know Track List:
1. Made For This (Ashley McBryde and Travis Meadows)
2. Coldest Beer in Town (Ashley McBryde, Autumn McEntire and Nicolette Hayford)
3. Light On In The Kitchen (Ashley McBryde, Jessi Alexander and Connie Harrington)
4. Women Ain’t Whiskey (Ashley McBryde, Hillary Lindsey, Jon Nite and Chris LaCorte)
5. Learned To Lie (Ashley McBryde, Nicolette Hayford and Sean McConnell)
6. The Devil I Know (Ashley McBryde, Jeremy Stover and Bobby Pinson)
7. Single At The Same Time (Ashley McBryde, Benjy Davis and Andy Albert)
8. Cool Little Bars (Ashley McBryde, Trick Savage and Lainey Wilson)
9. Whiskey and Country Music (Ashley McBryde, John Osborne and Lee Thomas Miller)
10. Blackout Betty (Ashley McBryde, Aaron Raitiere and Nicolette Hayford)
11. 6th Of October (Ashley McBryde, Blue Foley and CJ Field)
On a final note: Ashley will be part of the celebration of The Judds’ 40th anniversary. A number of music’s biggest stars have come together for A Tribute To The Judds, a forthcoming compilation album filled with reimagined versions of the legendary duo’s discography, set for release October 27, 2023, on BMG. A Tribute To The Judds will also be partnering with the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), in honor of Naomi Judd. More information on NAMI here.
About Preshias Harris
JournalistPreshias Harris is a music journalist who has interviewed everyone from Alabama to ZZ Top for articles and stories published in numerous music magazines. She is the author of longest-running monthly country music column in America and authored The College of Songology™ 101: The Singer/Songwriter’s ‘Need To Know’ Reference Handbook. As a music career development consultant with special emphasis on emerging and aspiring artists and songwriters, she focuses on ‘chasing the dream’ while understanding the realities of the music industry. She maintains a writers’ room on Music Row – named The Sangtuary – for her clients and their co-writers. She is a member of ASCAP (as a publisher), BMI, The Country Music Association (CMA), The Recording Academy, The National Association of Talent Directors (NATD) and a life member of Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI).
You can find out more about Preshias at https://www.collegeofsongology.com and find her blog at www.nashvillemusicline.com
