As GRAMMY award winner Ashley McBryde gears up for the release of The Devil I Know on September 8 via Warner Music Nashville, the Grand Ole Opry member revisits her roots with the release of “Cool Little Bars,” paying tribute to the dives, holes in the wall and often locals-only establishments that shaped the early days of her career. Listen to the song and pre-add/pre-save The Devil I Know HERE.
“As y’all know, I have a huge appreciation for bars that have stood the test of time and have a lot of character,” shares McBryde. “I played them for many, many years, and I’m proud of the education I gained, and I’m proud to be able to give such bars credit for my entertainment style.
“In a time when so many of our staple establishments are being torn down to make room for far less charming, sterile and predictable gathering spaces, I thought we’d better celebrate the ones we have left and the ones we’ve yet to warm a seat in. With the help of Trick Savage and Lainey Wilson, I think we said it pretty good. So, thank you for dart boards, sticky table tops, bathrooms with broken stall doors and bartenders that can mix a drink while whoopin’ an ass. We see you and we need you. God bless cool little bars.”
Written by McBryde with Savage and Wilson, today’s release highlights what makes a place special along with the desire to see them persevere and provide a space for the misplaced:
Climbing the charts in the top 25, “Light On In The Kitchen” earned placement on Rolling Stone’s all-genre “Best Songs of 2023 So Far,” praising the lead single as a “gorgeous tribute to the women who helped shape her” with “luminous guitars and McBryde’s tender delivery,” calling it “a comfortable crash pad for anyone who might take solace in its messages of support.”
The Arkansas native followed with title track “The Devil I Know” featuring “a big Southern-rock chorus with a blast of distorted riffage,” observes Stereogum, and “Learned To Lie,” which landed on Rolling Stone’s “Best Country Songs of 2023 So Far” noting, “When it comes to original sin, the devil lies in the details, especially when you’re a crack storyteller. Ashley McBryde tracks the lineage of an inveterate liar with clinical precision…her sneakily brilliant writing will floor you by song’s end.”
Last month, McBryde released album opener “Made for This,” a “guitar-heavy song accented by fast-paced drums,” shares American Songwriter, “as McBryde sings about a strong desire to chase one’s dreams - and the work ethic to back it up.”
McBryde will perform at the Oregon Jamboree Music Festival 2023 in Sweet Home, Oregon this evening and will be on the road throughout the spring and summer for a slew of headlining and festival shows along with tour dates with Jelly Roll and Dierks Bentley. For additional details and to purchase tickets, visit AshleyMcBryde.com.
Photo Credit: Katie Kauss
Ashley McBryde Upcoming Tour Dates
Aug. 4 Oregon Jamboree Music Festival 2023 Sweet Home, OR
Aug. 5 Memorial Field Sandpoint, ID
Aug. 6 Big Valley Jamboree 2023 Camrose, Alberta
Aug. 11 Jiffy Lube Live* Bristow, VA
Aug. 12 Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater* Virginia Beach, VA
Aug. 17 Upper Peninsula State Fairgrounds Escanaba, MI
Aug. 18 Effingham Performance Center Effingham, IL
Aug. 19 Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre* Maryland Heights, MO
Aug. 25 CHI Health Center Omaha* Omaha, BE
Aug. 26 T-Mobile Center* Kansas City, MO
Aug. 27 Celebrity Theatre Phoenix, AZ
Sept. 2 Georgia Country Music Festival Marietta, GA
Sept. 5 Red Rocks Amphitheatre^ Morrison, CO
Sept. 14 Washington County Fairgrounds Abingdon, VA
Sept. 19 Paycom Center* Oklahoma City, OK
Sept. 21 Germania Insurance Amphitheater* Austin, TX
Sept. 24 Pilgrimage Festival 2023 Franklin, TN
Oct. 6 Variety Playhouse Atlanta, GA
Oct. 19 Gordy’s Hwy 30 Music Festival 2023 Fort Worth, TX
Oct. 20 John T. Floore’s Country Store Helotes, TX
Nov. 4 Anderson Music Hall Hiawassee, GA
* Jelly Roll Backroad Baptism Tour 2023
^ Dierks Bentley Gravel & Gold Tour
About Ashley McBryde
GRAMMY, CMA and ACM award winner Ashley McBryde cut her teeth playing country songs in biker bars – and it shows. The Grand Ole Opry member’s 2018 major label debut Girl Going Nowhere (Warner Music Nashville) charmed The New York Times, NPR, Rolling Stone, Paste, The Washington Post and more, all en route to landing a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album. McBryde closed out 2019 with ACM New Female Artist, CMT Breakout Artist, a New Artist of the Year win at the 53rd Annual CMA Awards and two nominations for the 2020 GRAMMYs for Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance for “Girl Goin’ Nowhere.” Her follow-up Never Will was tagged by Rolling Stone as one of the most anticipated of the year alongside NPR, who also ranked her Top 10 RIAA Platinum-Certified single “One Night Standards” as one of the best songs of 2019. The album earned McBryde a 2021 GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album, making Never Will the only album nominated for Country Album of the Year by the ACMs, CMAs and the Recording Academy in the same award season. Her GRAMMY-winning duet with Carly Pearce, “Never Wanted To Be That Girl,” went all the way to No. 1 and earned McBryde and Pearce the ACM and CMA award for Musical Event of the Year. McBryde was also honored with the 2022 CMA International Artist Achievement Award for the most significant creative growth, development and promotion of the country music industry outside of the United States. Her collaborative project Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville featuring Brothers Osborne, Brandy Clark, Pillbox Patti, Caylee Hammack, Aaron Raitiere and Benjy Davis earned McBryde her third consecutive GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album, making her a six-time GRAMMY nominee. Upon its release, Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville garnered applause from The New York Times, NPR, Variety, Vulture, Esquire, Rolling Stone, Billboard and Stereogum, among many more. With 11 songs all co-written by the Arkansas native, The Devil I Know is set for release on September 8, featuring chart-climbing lead single “Light On In The Kitchen,” along with the recently released title track, “Learned To Lie,” album opener “Made For This” and “Cool Little Bars.” McBryde is currently on the road with headlining shows and festival stops throughout the summer along with dates on Jelly Roll’s Back Road Baptism Tour 2023 and a night with Dierks Bentley at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado before returning to Middle Tennessee for Pilgrimage Festival in Franklin on September 24. For more information, visit Ashley McBryde.com or follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube.