GRAMMY Award winner Ashley McBryde has made a name for herself with her standout, critically acclaimed albums, all of which found the Arkansas native straddling lines between traditional country, rock-tinged roots and point-blank biker-bar riffs, leading American Songwriter to boast her “music balances gutsy rocking with classic country, folk and even slight bluegrass influences.” With The Devil I Know, set for release Sept. 8 via Warner Music Nashville, the Grand Ole Opry member and her band Deadhorse honed in and sharpened what it is they do best.
“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,” shares McBryde. “We decided to take all the things that people tend to give us a hard time for and turn it up.
“‘Y’all are too country.’ We leaned into that – more country it is. ‘Y’all are awfully rock leaning for a country artist.’ Is that so? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. ‘Last thing y’all need is another tender, finger pickin’ song.’ Oh? Tender makes you uneasy, cowboy? I hear you. Let’s see how much more tender we can be. We listened to all those opinions and said, ‘I hear you. I understand what you’re saying.’ But sadly, there’s no room on the record for your opinion. We’ll do what we want.”
Accompanying today’s announcement is the release of “Learned To Lie,” a striking example of McBryde’s songwriting vulnerability:
I traced it back to a couple months before I was born
Must’ve heard my momma tell my daddy
That she was tired ’cause babies make you tired
But deep down she was just unhappy
I think my father did the best that he could do
He rarely made it to the dinner table
Said he was working late, but he was working late
Fogging up the windows of an ’89 Sable
I, I learned to cry
Quietly I learned to pray
Silently inside a house where the devil played
And I hate that it runs in my blood
I hate how easy it comes
I wish I’d learned how to love the same way I
Learned to lie
“‘Learned to Lie’ was a hard one; I wrote it with Sean McConnell and Nicolette Hayford,” McBryde reflects. “After it was written, I called my mom to let her know that I had told a little bit more of our story as a family. I said, ‘It’s going to be hard to hear, but none of it is untrue.’”
McBryde’s truth-telling is delivered a little softer in current chart-climbing single “Light On In The Kitchen” thatThe New York Times praised, “Ashley McBryde maintains her position as country’s most down-to-earth songwriter,” while the title track “The Devil I Know” showcases her aptitude for turning it up, with Stereogum sharing the song “starts out quiet and acoustic before flaring up into a big Southern-rock chorus with a blast of distorted riffage.”
Tonight, McBryde performs at the BackCountry Festival in Gardnerville, Nevada before returning to Nashville for CMA Fest’s 50th Anniversary at Nissan Stadium next week. McBryde will be on the road throughout the spring and summer for a slew of headlining and festival shows along with tour dates with Eric Church and Jelly Roll. For additional details and to purchase tickets, visit AshleyMcBryde.com.
The Devil I KnowTrack List:
- Made For This (Ashley McBryde and Travis Meadows)
- Coldest Beer in Town (Ashley McBryde, Autumn McEntire and Nicolette Hayford)
- Light On In The Kitchen (Ashley McBryde, Jessi Alexander and Connie Harrington)
- Women Ain’t Whiskey (Ashley McBryde, Hillary Lindsey, Jon Nite and Chris LaCorte)
- Learned To Lie (Ashley McBryde, Nicolette Hayford and Sean McConnell)
- The Devil I Know (Ashley McBryde, Jeremy Stover and Bobby Pinson)
- Single At The Same Time (Ashley McBryde, Benjy Davis and Andy Albert)
- Cool Little Bars (Ashley McBryde, Trick Savage and Lainey Wilson)
- Whiskey and Country Music (Ashley McBryde, John Osborne and Lee Thomas Miller)
- Blackout Betty (Ashley McBryde, Aaron Raitiere and Nicolette Hayford)
- 6th Of October (Ashley McBryde, Blue Foley and CJ Field)
Ashley McBryde Upcoming Tour Dates
June 2 BackCountry Festival 2023 Gardnerville, Nev.
June 9 Peoria Riverfront Peoria, Ill.
June 11 CMA Fest – Nissan Stadium Nashville, Tenn.
June 16 NSG Music Factory, Rossford Toledo, Ohio
June 17 Morgan County Fairgrounds Martinsville, Ind.
June 21 Joe’s on Weed St. Chicago, Ill.
June 22 Luther F. Carson Four Rivers Center for the Paducah, Ky.
Performing Arts
June 23 Pine Knob Music Center Clarkston, Mich.
June 24 Blossom Music Center Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
June 29 Credit One Stadium Charleston, S.C.
June 30 Elmwood Park Amphitheater Roanoke, Va.
July 7 Wenonah Park Bay City, Mich.
July 8 Hodag Country Festival 2023 Rhinelander, Wis.
July 13 Santa Maria Fairpark Santa Maria, Calif.
July 14 Green Valley Ranch Backyard Amphitheater Henderson, Nev.
July 15 Stanislaus County Fairgrounds Turlock, Calif.
July 16 California State Fair Sacramento, Calif.
July 22 Ionia Free Fair Fairgrounds Ionia, Mich.
July 23 Country Thunder Wisconsin 2023 Twin Lakes, Wis.
July 28 Country Fan Fest 2023 Tooele, Utah
July 29 Headwaters Country Jam 2023 Cardwell, Mont.
July 30 Abayance Bay Marina Eureka, Mont.
Aug. 1 Mount Baker Theatre Bellingham, Wash.
Aug. 2 Britt Festival Pavilion Jacksonville, Ore.
Aug. 4 Oregon Jamboree Music Festival 2023 Sweet Home, Ore.
Aug. 5 Memorial Field Sandpoint, Idaho
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. 19 Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre Maryland Heights, Mo.
Aug. 25 CHI Health Center Omaha Omaha, Neb.
Aug. 26 T-Mobile Center Kansas City, Mo.
Sept. 1-3 Georgia Country Music Festival Marietta, Ga.
Sept. 19 Paycom Center Oklahoma City, Okla.
Sept. 21 Germania Insurance Amphitheater Austin, Texas
Sept. 24 Pilgrimage Festival 2023 Franklin, Tenn.
Oct. 19 Gordy’s Hwy30 Music Fest 2023 Fort Worth, Texas
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 TheNew 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-upNever 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 projectAshley 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 Sept. 8, featuring chart-climbing lead single “Light On In The Kitchen,” along with the recently released title track and “Learned To Lie.” McBryde will embark on a run of additional headlining shows, festivals, three dates with Eric Church on The Outsiders Revival Tour and seven shows with Jelly Roll this spring and summer. For more information, visit Ashley McBryde.com or follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube.
