Ashley McBryde was born on July 29, 1983 in Waldron, Arkansas. She grew up in a strict household with a farmer, doctor, and preacher father and a mother who read to her every night. She developed a passion for music and writing songs at a young age, influenced by various genres such as country, bluegrass, rock, and pop. She learned to play guitar when she was three years old and wrote her first song when she was 12.
McBryde attended Arkansas State University where she studied French horn and played in the marching band. She also performed regularly in clubs in Memphis, Tennessee. A college professor encouraged her to drop out and pursue music full-time, which she did in 2006. She moved to Nashville and released two self-produced albums: Ashley McBryde (2006) and Elsebound (2011). She also worked as a songwriter for other artists and toured extensively.
Rise to Fame
In 2016, McBryde released an EP titled Jalopies & Expensive Guitars, which caught the attention of country star Eric Church. He invited her to join him on stage and praised her talent. This led to a recording contract with Warner Music Nashville in 2017. Her debut single "A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega" was a critical and commercial success, reaching the top 30 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. Her first major-label album Girl Going Nowhere (2018) received two Grammy nominations and won the ACM Award for New Female Artist of the Year.
McBryde followed up with her second album Never Will (2020), which also received positive reviews and two Grammy nominations. The lead single "One Night Standards" became her first top 20 hit on the Country Airplay chart and her first number one on the Canadian Country chart. She also collaborated with Carly Pearce on the duet "Never Wanted to Be That Girl", which topped the Country Airplay chart in 2022.
In 2023, she released Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville, a collection of stories from a fictional small town featuring guest appearances from other artists. She was also inducted into the Grand Ole Opry by Terri Clark on December 10, 2022