
Loading summary
Ashley McBryde
This is an iHeart podcast.
Ryan Seacrest
Guaranteed Human hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. It's Stock up savings time now through March 31st. Spring in for storewide deals and earn four times the points. Look for in store tags to earn uneligible items from Activia, General Mills, Nature Valley, A and W, Monster Energy, Coffee Mate and Pete's Coffee. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event long savings. Stack up those rewards to save even more. Enjoy savings on top of savings when you shop in store or online for easy drive up and go pickup or delivery restrictions apply. See website for terms and conditions.
T-Mobile/US Cellular Announcer
Everyone deserves to be Connected T Mobile and US Cellular are joining forces. Our networks are coming together bringing more T Mobile coverage all over the country. Switch to T Mobile and save up to 20% versus Verizon by getting built in benefits they leave out. Check the math@t mobile.com Switch and now T Mobile is available in the US Cellular Store in Pasco. Bigger network the combination of T Mobile and US Cellular's network footprints will enhance the T Mobile network's coverage savings versus comparable Verizon plans plus the costs of options, benefits, plan features and taxes and fees vary. Savings with three plus lines include third free line free via monthly bill credits Credit stop if you cancel any lines. Qualifying credit required.
Podcast Host (Bobby Cast)
Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue 20% year over year. You can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available@public.com disclosures there's a difference
Redfin Advertiser
between liking a house and actually getting it. Redfin is built to make up that difference and close the gap between finding and owning the home for you. Redfin agents close twice as many deals as other agents. So when you find a home you love, you're not a step behind when it comes to making an offer. That means less watching great homes disappear and more focus on the one you'll call home. Redfin Redfin helps turn saved listings into real addresses. Get started@redfin.com own the dream.
Ashley McBryde
I'm here and technically I can leave, but we're far enough out in the middle of nowhere that I wouldn't know what direction to go. Hi, I'm Ashley. I'm evidently a drunk.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
I'm a big fan of our next guest, Ashley McBride. She's a Grammy, CMA and ACM award winner. So she has all the awards. She's a member of the Grand Ole Opry. She is one of the most respected songwriters in Nashville. You're going to love Ashley McBride. If you didn't know or if you already know her, you're going to love her even more. From Girl Going Nowhere to One Night Standards, both jams to light on in the Kitchen, she's built a career on telling it exactly like it is. She's got a brand new album on the way. She's already dropped some new songs. What if We Don't? And Arkansas Mud. She's also headlining her redemption residency up at Chiefs in Nashville where a non alcoholic redemption bar. She's hitting the road with Eric Church. As you can tell, I'm a massive fan. Here she is, fellow Arkansan Ashley McBride. Ashley, good to see you.
Ashley McBryde
Good to see you.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
I was listening to your song Arkansas Mud and I don't pay attention to
Ryan Seacrest
a lot of words.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
I'm so much a melody guy. Even like some of the songs that I've known my whole life. I don't even think I know the words to them yet. But I was listening. And the first line, just from memory, I think is Percocet, Adderall, nicotine, alcohol, throwing dishes down the hall. Bad mistakes. I've tried them all.
Public Service Announcer (Sean Dynasty)
Yeah.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Is that right?
Ashley McBryde
Yeah. Bad decisions. Tried them all.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
I love that.
Ashley McBryde
Thank you.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Yeah, that was really good.
Ashley McBryde
Thank you.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
So I don't know talk about that song and that lyric. Cause I don't know. Is that real?
Ashley McBryde
Yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. And I think it when we were making the video for it and we were talking about we need to get footage of how I used to be after shows, after events, after like, because when it went off the rails. It went off the rails in a big way. So. And as I've had to say over the last three years, I'm a drunk. And if you find yourself wanting to be, like, no, you're not. That's how good I am at it. I've had people say, I never really saw you as much of a drinker. And so now I can say, if you were around me prior to three years, nine months, six weeks, and however many days ago, I was drunk. Sorry. I am sorry.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Who knew?
Ashley McBryde
Who did notice when we were in professional settings? Like, luckily, I did not embarrass my organization. I did not embarrass my genre. Everyone that was around me, tour managers, glam wardrobe, band, entire crew, everybody knows. And I would do different things to get a handle on it or to make myself believe I was getting a handle on it. You know, there's no drinking before shows. I'm totally fine with that. At one point, I was having to drink before meet and greets because I was so anxious. So I just got some tools to learn. Now I was like, I don't want to drink all day, all night. And then it was maybe just after shows that I would drink. But for some reason, my brain was like, you didn't drink till after a show. Now you have to drink as much as humanly possible. And so everybody that I work with, everybody I was close with, not even my parents knew the extent of it. And when we wrote Arkansas Mud and we're putting it on this record, I'm looking at it, we're going to make the video, I was like, well, I don't want anybody to think that when I say I'm made of Arkansas mud, that that means alcoholic. It was not being the most true, the most real to myself that caused me to put the wrong things in its place. Percocet and Adderall and nicotine and alcohol. And I'm not a mean drunk. Luckily, I'm, you know, a pretty jovial person to be around. And I couldn't throw a ball from here to the broadside of a barn, but I can smash a whiskey glass right next to your head.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Evidently, you have accuracy with whiskey glass.
Ashley McBryde
Yeah. She plays in a league of her own, so I think writing that lyric felt good, and it didn't. It's not. It could sound like it's from a glorifying place, but that's just me admitting it. I did. I tried it all, and it didn't work. And thankfully, because of where I'm from and the people That I come from and the area that I come from, we're made of really stout stuff and we can. We're one of the most self reliant groups of people that I've encountered. Arkansans are. And to think that anything could control an Arkansan, especially me. Joan of Arkansas, bigger than, Larger than life, runs faster than you. I don't run faster than anybody. To think that that was in control really pissed me off.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
So when you had. And I saw the video, like you said, you're recreating.
Ashley McBryde
Yeah.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Was that triggering for you at all?
Ashley McBryde
Like third take? Ish. You know, and we were having. We were trying to be lighthearted about it because everybody in the filming crew, everybody at Warner is, everybody at qprime, everybody's in the know. When I went away, it was not because I. I got up and said, hey, guys, I think I have a problem, I should go away. It was intervention style. And so everybody knows that there's a chance that this is really, really hard on us. But we did good. Kind of lighthearted, blocked it a couple times. And by the time we filmed it for real, that's when you. Those bottles are full of apple cider vinegar, sweet tea water. I have no idea what's in what bottle. I didn't feel them. So those reactions are real. And then the farther into it I got being like looking in that mirror and then grabbing a bottle and then pouring it and then drinking the bottle and then drinking the drink and then being like, bigger bottle, bigger glass, pour, I'll drink it too. And then the faster I got into that and the more it got on my face and kind of everywhere. I don't know what exactly. I'm not a neuroscientist, but something clicked and went, oh, no, we're doing. We're off the rails. So very last take. I'd be happy to send you the clip. As I was drinking and like, you know, throwing the trash can behind me, being silly, all of that stuff, I looked into the mirror and then got scared. And then for some reason I started just kind of picking up on the set. I've already kicked stuff off the bed and kicked stuff off the nightstand. I started picking up and then I started crying. And then I got in the bed, that's a prop bed, and I got in it and cried. And nobody said cut. And nobody moved. And then finally Brandon said, okay, cut. And I tried to make light of it and I sat up and I said, I was just like the real drunk, me. And I looked over in My team, especially sweet Dana, who was. She's the glam artist best friend assistant team. And if I tear up, forgive me. Just crocodile tears. I was like, oh, no, I hurt her again. Oh, do we have a tissue? I didn't realize that that would be. It'll stop. It always stops. That was tough. And what we follow that with is tough because we shot them one right after the other. So I messed up my makeup and did all that stuff, and then we shot the bottle. Tells me so immediately. Same. Same bedroom, same prop bed.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Do you mind some Arkansas tissue, which is toilet paper?
Ashley McBryde
Yeah, no, I would love that.
Public Service Announcer (Sean Dynasty)
Yeah.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Would you? Okay.
Podcast Host (Bobby Cast)
Okay, good.
Ashley McBryde
I'm surprised I don't have a handkerchief in my pocket.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
And for those thinking that I'm insulting Arkansas, I also am from Arkansas.
Ashley McBryde
That is correct.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Yeah. When I ask for a napkin at home, that means a paper towel. Yeah.
Ashley McBryde
A paper towel is everything. Yes.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
That's interesting.
Ashley McBryde
This is Aviva. This is a really nice paper towel.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
And I definitely didn't.
Ashley McBryde
There's gotta be some kind of record going from everything to tearing up.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
I really didn't plan to jump in this hard. I was just listening to the song, and I was like, I really enjoy that lyric at the beginning, and I knew what you were trying to establish by it, and so I just kind of listen to it again right before you came in. But you talking about that whenever you went in. Because I had to put my mom in rehab a couple times before she died. And it's never a fun thing. It was always a terrible thing. But she never stayed. She left every time.
Ashley McBryde
Yeah.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Because she had the ability to do that. I check her in, but she's an adult.
Ashley McBryde
Technically, I had the ability to leave.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Did you ever want to?
Ashley McBryde
I kept being like, I can't do. I can't do this. Like, I don't know where I am. I can't. Oh, my God. I have to do this. I mean, I'm gonna do it. They got me here. I'm gonna do it. But I just kept being like, there's no way I'm doing this for 30 days. That's insane. I don't live under a bridge. I didn't hurt anybody. And now I can hear my other self going, oh, kid, sit down and shut up and put your seatbelt on.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Why do you think you stayed?
Ashley McBryde
I was gonna die. Yeah, that's. I mean, that's the reason I had to go there. Intervention style. God, I wish we gave an award for who cries the most often. I woke up at another artist's house, another female artist. And if I told you who, you would not be shocked, of course. And I woke up in a bed that's not mine, in pajamas that aren't mine. And I was like, oh, my God, that must have been a doozy. I'm thirsty. I don't know where I am and I don't know where water is, so I'll just go find water. And when I went to find water, I found a living room. And in that living room was my team, Dana and John Peets. And my day to day. And I said, I looked at them and that artist was also on the couch. And I said, okay, I don't know where my boots are, but I need my boots. And they said, we need you to stop. And I said, I need me to stop, too. And that was when I found out that she took me to her house that night after we'd been out to make sure I didn't die. But I didn't.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Was there a point? Not was there. At what point later did you appreciate how hard it was even for them to do that for you?
Ashley McBryde
There's so much that I look at now and all during the process, and it was. I say, funny, but I'm going to use that in kind of a loose term. I'd be at treatment and people would say, oh, I really like those shoes. And I'd go, thanks, they're not mine. And, oh, cute pajamas. And I was like, my clothes aren't even here yet. And when I think about Dana and Blakely having to go shopping and find me clothes and having to go through my stuff and to decide whether to tell my family that I cannot. I cannot fathom or make up for how much I put them through. And that's another reason to stay, is I didn't die and I have the chance right now. And, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm hurting me, whatever. And I'm hurting them. And if this goes any farther, this is really, really ugly. This is like, they'll have to make a movie about it bad. So I just buckled down and decided, well, I'm here, and technically I can leave, but we're far enough out in the middle of nowhere that I wouldn't know what direction to go. Hi, I'm Ashley. I'm evidently a drunk.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Evidently. You had to have that version first, right?
Ashley McBryde
I did. And when I was like, I don't, you know, filling out different, you know, they give you a worksheet and can you list this and that? And they're like, how much do you drink. And I'm like, out of time. The same as everyone else. I just drink two glasses at a time. Having to go through that to illustrate to myself. And at first you're like, okay, I'll fill out the worksheet, but whatever. Again, I do my job. I do my job well. No one is hurt. I pay my bills. I think I'm okay. And then as you are filling out those worksheets and doing those talks and everything, you go, oh, I'm not okay. Oh, my gosh, what a pos. And oh, my God, that's me. How terrifying. And oh, my God, that's me. How sad. And all of that. Just looking at everything that you did and accomplished and while being that ill and what else could you have accomplished if you hadn't been drunk?
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
How raw did it feel coming out?
Ashley McBryde
Oh, my God. And when I left, I went to a couple of my practitioners and therapists and I said, okay, when I leave here. And I left on a Wednesday, Tuesday, when I leave here, you need me to never, ever, ever encounter alcohol again. I will leave here at noon. I will be around alcohol. By 10pm I will be in the bus. I've already fixed it at this time. To where? One of my buses. There is no alcohol. The other bus, you can have alcohol on it. And I said, I'm not gonna drink. I know that I won't. And you don't know me well enough to know that if I've made a decision, that's it. I need you to give me the tools to be around it tomorrow. It is our entire industry. It's one of the most loved and celebrated things about our industry. I built a career on it. I was literally, before I ever popped on the scene, dubbed the whiskey drinking badass. So now I need you to give me the tools to not do it. And then all of the fear comes in. Are you any good? Not drunk?
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
That was my next question. Because you did so much. Not because of you drinking, but while drinking. I had the same feelings about therapy. Like, if I get really right, am I gonna be able to do this?
Ashley McBryde
If I fix this, am I even interesting?
Public Service Announcer (Sean Dynasty)
Yes.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Yeah.
Ashley McBryde
Yeah. Am I still funny? Do I write stupid songs? I can't write sober records. Who buys sober records? I don't buy sober records. All of that. And then you think about. You just name an artist and you hear those voices going, I liked him better when he was a cocaine. That was awesome. Until he quit drinking vodka. Like, and all of that negativity that our brains are trained to Scan for to keep us safe. It scans for. Enhance it to your confirmation bias.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
You just said, what are brains scanned for? Okay, so you're learning stuff like I'm learning stuff. Because that doesn't sound like that's just something you thought of.
Ashley McBryde
No. Yeah. I had to learn about why the things happen, how the habits form, why, what that is, what a reticular activating system is. What is confirmation bias? What is experiential bias? And it's over intellectualizing, which is a way to avoid feelings. And I also know that. Which I just over intellectualized, but it helps me understand too. Instead of being like, I'm angry or whatever, I can say I'm noticing I have anger. And then I can immediately try to trace it back and then be like, that's because my experiential bias says based on X, Y, Z. Oh, so I am having that feeling, but I'm having that feeling based on this experience, not this experience. So it helps me to nerd out about it.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
A lot of what you're saying and a lot of what you've been through is obviously gonna help so many people in so many ways, but just on an intimate level with me and you, even you telling that story, how it helps me is so I went through the process with my mom a couple of times. She died in her 40s from drugs and alcohol.
T-Mobile/US Cellular Announcer
Put her in.
Ashley McBryde
I'm so sorry.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Put her in. A couple times. She would get out. But I always wondered if she knew that I was doing it out of pure love.
Ashley McBryde
Yeah.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Like, I really wondered if she knew it, and I think she did. But hearing you talk about that and you understanding and knowing that they did that out of pure love, even as uncomfortable as it was for everybody.
Ashley McBryde
Yeah. They basically had to knock me over the head and put me in the car.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
And that's what I had to do. And I just wondered, and at first
Ashley McBryde
I was like, they're just gonna send me away.
Ryan Seacrest
I'm too much trouble.
Ashley McBryde
I'm the one. They're just gonna send me away. That doesn't last long. That doesn't last long when you can stop being like, I'm uncomfortable because of someone else and you just. That you're the reason you're so miserable. And then you can look at it and go, oh, my God, they love me so much. I'm so sorry.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Yeah. You telling that story makes me feel like maybe she understood that.
Ashley McBryde
Yeah. I would say chances are very good. And I didn't make a sober record, but I did make a record about Being a drunk and almost dying and not dying.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Last question about it. Because I just.
Ashley McBryde
Yeah, it's no problem.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
It just triggers so many things inside of me. Because this is something personally that I've dealt with too, my whole life on a different level, you know, in a different way. Like, did you ever not want to live instead of getting sober?
Ashley McBryde
Part of why they had to take
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
me there, because I think that is what we were dealing with too, in my family.
Ashley McBryde
I think also thinking it'd be much easier than trying to quit. And the more. The more times I would allow myself to be that drunk, the scarier, the darker it got. Faster. And it wasn't six drinks in, then, it was three drinks in. And pretty soon that becomes one. And that's a. That's a scary place to be. It's a scary spot.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
I know you did it for you. But so many people are going to look at this, hear this, use this for their own journeys. And again, I can appreciate you talking about this because I didn't expect to have. Who knew if we even went here in this conversation, but this has helped me even. So I appreciate you being so excited about that story.
Ashley McBryde
And I didn't want to talk about it at all when I first quit drinking because I didn't want it to look like it was performative.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Sure.
Ashley McBryde
Especially when nobody knew how bad it was. They're like, oh, she must be suffering for ratings right now, because she's suddenly like, I'm gonna be sober. And I thought if I screw it up, that's the first thing we're gonna wait for, is for me to screw it up if I talk about it. So I waited till I was several hundred days in to at least be able to say, I'm this far into it. And that was three years ago.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
You know what? I like that video. Cause you have a NA bar, which is non alcoholic, and there's a video of people coming in. I think they were touring and you were playing on stage.
Ashley McBryde
Yeah.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
And they had no idea that you were gonna be playing on stage. That was the greatest TikTok because you got to watch these people that are obviously fans of yours come into your bar. And in Nashville, there's music everywhere. And of course someone's gonna be playing in your bar. Cause that's just what. But it was. And they slowly. I don't think some of them realized it for a minute.
Ashley McBryde
I was in a hoodie. Like, I wasn't like a woman of country music. I was a chick with a guitar. I'm so Glad you enjoyed it. It was so much fun for me to find out that there' and so that's early in the morning. They're coming through. They're having their coffee and walking through redemption and being able to just go play. And I was able to just ask, you know, there's like 30 of them. I'm like, what song do you want to hear? It's anything mine. Barbara Mandrell, Paula Abdul. I don't care.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Whoever thought of that concept, like, a plus to them, because that was a really great video. What do you think about the bar? I'm a big NA guy. I've never tasted alcohol for the reasons we talked about. I do worry, though, that someone's gonna put alcohol in my drink all the time.
Ashley McBryde
Yeah.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Do you worry about that?
Ashley McBryde
Luckily, I've got Dana Sloggenhop, and if there is anything given to me that she did not make or I did not make, then she'll drink it and say, okay, this is safe or not. And lots of people on my team would do that. And in redemption, we help you distinguish that with clear straws for every drink. If it has alcohol in it, it's got a black straw. Which saved my butt the other day at Chiefs. I'm the kind of person that if there's like, seven drinks on that table and it's after a show, they're all watered down. Like, I'm just thirsty. I'm just gonna. I'll drink your drink. I don't care. And I went to grab a cup, and one of the guys was like, that's got a black straw. And I was like, you just saved your life. Cause we would have had a blast for about three hours, I'm told. And I think it's awesome. I've made the joke. I didn't know not drinking came with a bar, but it's wonderful. And it's the only place on Broadway where you can order anything on the menu. It already comes without alcohol, and you're welcome to put alcohol in it if you'd like to. Our bartenders are happy to do that for you. But everything you order. Martini McBride. There's no alcohol in there.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Funny name.
Ashley McBryde
I had to pass it by her first. I didn't want her to be upset by it.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Yeah.
Ashley McBryde
And it's okay. Nobody's gonna give you guff either way. Nobody's gonna think it's weird for you to not drink. Nobody's gonna think it's weird for you to drink alcohol. And the stage only holds one person plus one player. If you really, you could put two people on it if you really squeezed it on there. But it's that way for a reason. Because you can hear every type of music. Well, you can hear everything from the radio, right? Anywhere you go on Broadway, you can hear the old years top 40. And we didn't have a spot where a kid like me in 2005 had just moved to town. I want to play on Broadway. I want to figure out how this works, but I won't have a spot to learn it. And now we do. And you can go and hear somebody who has written hits, or you can go and hear somebody who just moved to town today. And it's wonderful and charming. And my brother was the one that pointed it out to me. He said when I was still living in Nashville and I'd take people on dates, I'd want to go hear interesting music. I just wouldn't want a bunch of drunk people slobbering all over us all the time. He's like, we can only go to the coffee place like so many times. So now there's a place you can go and hear music and experience community and hanging out. It's just that if you say something stupid, you get to be anxious about it now. Not, not tomorrow. Let's take a quick pause for a
Podcast Host (Bobby Cast)
message from our sponsor.
Ryan Seacrest
Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. It's stock up savings time now through March 31st. Bring in for storewide deal and earn four times the points. Look for in store tags to earn uneligible items from Activia, General Mills, Nature Valley, A and W, Monster Energy Coffee Mate and Pete's Coffee. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event long savings. Stack up those rewards to save even more. Enjoy savings on top of savings when you shop in store or online for easy drive up and go pickup or delivery restrictions apply. See website for terms and conditions.
Public Service Announcer (Sean Dynasty)
Are you a fraud paying American? It's a fact that one in four honest, hard working tax paying Americans has been a victim of identity theft with Lifelock Identity Theft Protection. Though if your identity is stolen, they fix it guaranteed and get you your money back. Last year the IRS flagged over $16 billion in refunds for identity fraud. That's billions of dollars that could come from your salary, overtime or second job. But this year you don't need to stay a victim. LifeLock monitors millions of data points per second for your personal information and alerts you to threats you could easily miss on your own. And if your information does fall into the wrong hands only LifeLock has US based restoration specialists who are backed by the million dollar protection package. Because this tax season fraud paying American is something no American should have to claim. Visit lifelock.com iheart and save up to 40% your first year. That's 40% off@lifelock.com iheart terms apply.
Podcast Host (Bobby Cast)
Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. Work it screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S P500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc, SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available@public.com disclosures let's talk about modern home shopping.
Redfin Advertiser
It's sort of become a fun side hobby, right? Scrolling listings at night, dreaming about kitchens you've never seen or backyards you haven't even stepped foot in. All from the comfort of pretty much anywhere. Redfin knows a lot of people like you want to own but are stuck in this browsing mode loop. That's where Redfin flips the script. With listings that update within minutes and tours you can book right from the Redfin app, you can see your dream home the moment it appears. Now, liking a listing is easy, but actually landing it? That's where Redfin comes in. Redfin has over 2200 agents with local expertise and Redfin agents close twice as many deals as other agents. That means they want to help you win. Not just window shop. Redfin is built to help you go from just looking to to wait. This could actually be home. So become the newest neighbor on the block. Visit redfin.com to start finding and start owning. That's redfin.com.
Podcast Host (Bobby Cast)
And we're Back on the bobbycast, when
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
you first moved to town, how do you do that? Do you. Do you go and ask people at bars, can I play? Like, how do you do? Move to town?
Ashley McBryde
I needed first to have place to sleep. So on campus at Arkansas State, I walked up to my most favorite mentor and professor and said, I'm dropping out right now. And he said, good, you should. That's where you want to be. Go. So I left. I called my friend Jenny, who worked at the time. It was called sure, Storage, and I think it's called something else now. But it's the kind of storage building that's got like the lighthouse looking thing on it. There was one in Donaldson and she worked there and lived there. So that was where I lived.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
How do you live there?
Ashley McBryde
There's an apartment, like, connected to the office. So as you can imagine, itty bitty living space. But I could crash there until I could get a place. And then I know I have one friend who lives here and I'm like, what bars do you hang out at? And she's like, Dan McGinnis. And I'm like, cool, what's the bartender's name? Whatever, Peyton. All right, cool. Can you introduce me? And then what are the bars do you hang out at? Oh, winners, losers. Who's your favorite bartender? And just go, start talking to people. Do the same thing that I'd been doing in Oklahoma and in Arkansas and in Kentucky and do all of those things, but just do it here. And that's how I found out that everyone plays for free here. At the time they did, there was no base pay.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
It was all tips, all tips. So do you go, hey, I'd love to play for a couple hours?
Ashley McBryde
Yeah. Do you have anything, any slots that need filled? And they're like, yeah, patio. There's Nobody there from 6 to 8 on a Tuesday. So you're like, okay, cool, I'll take that slot. And then you try to get people to come, or you try to get people that are walking down to Mumbrian to come into Dan McGinnis. And then you go to the Writers Nights, you go to Guinness girls in Dan McGinnis, and you go to Rusty Nail out in Hermitage and you meet those songwriters and you find out who plays where and gig swap and just start trying to. I mean, it's just boots on the ground. Same thing I did in Memphis.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
It feels like you build a community and the community together kind of figures out where everybody can go. Yeah, but you have to build that community too, because, you know when it almost felt like college too. You go to college. I didn't know anybody. Made a friend, that friend knew somebody. Then we kind of had a group, and the group looked out for each other. It kind of sounds like what it's like to move here to Nashville is like you have a spot or two, but then in those spots or two, you meet other people and you're sharing information. Does it feel competitive when you first move here?
Ashley McBryde
I think when you're first moving here and you're bumping into the people that are doing kind of the same thing you're doing, trying to get their feet under them, I think it's a we get farther together feeling. And you go to the Commodore and you play the writer's night, and then you talk to the guy that just sang, and you're like, hey, what other writers nights do you like? And he's like, oh, I really love the one that. At Blah Blah Blah Tavern at Blah Blah Blah Street. When is that? That's on Tuesdays from 9 to 10. And you're like, okay, cool. What's the open mic? Who's the host? And then you go to that writer's night and you meet the same type of people, and you're like, where do you like to play? And they're like, oh, I like to play at the Mexican restaurant in Nolensville on Saturdays from 6 to 8. And you're like, who do I talk to about that? I think we're so willing to give the information around because we all know that we're here to do the same thing. It was sort of like playing the bar circuit. If I ran into you and you played four to eight and I'm playing eight to midnight, we aren't in competition with each other because we are the same animal. And we are both in this bar playing songs that we love to play to keep the lights on in our house. And there's no competition involved.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
That feels very supportive. Is there a stage when it starts to feel a bit competitive?
Ashley McBryde
Absolutely.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
What stage is that?
Ashley McBryde
Immediately, as soon as you get any momentum at all.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Because that's what everybody's competing for, right? Is momentum?
Ashley McBryde
Yes. And especially being a chick and I'm not being like, just play more women. We all know what the climate is, but we know that in country music, we are only allowed to celebrate and promote and get behind one at a time. Even if there's 10 of us, we know only one of these girls is getting the stool at the bar. And that's when it starts to get Gross and catty. But if you're lucky, then you've created relationships and earned respect in your community so that it's not just catty. How do I explain that? Miranda used to say it to me. I want you to challenge me. I want you to make me a better performer. I want to make you a better performer. This is how we sharpen our edges. We challenge each other. We show up for each other. This is the way it should be. And I completely agree. Now, when it comes down to it, if there's only room, if there's only one parachute, you're going to cut my throat. I know that. And you know I'm going to cut yours. It's nothing personal. It's just that only one of us gets the parachute.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Did you have times where you felt momentum?
Ashley McBryde
Oh, yeah.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
And then regression?
Ashley McBryde
Oh, gosh, yes. Everything was going. I mean, just skyrocketing. I was like, oh, my God. And then the great separation happened.
Public Service Announcer (Sean Dynasty)
Covid.
Ashley McBryde
Yeah. And then. So the Never Will record, which still is the only country music album that was nominated for the acm, the cma, and the Recording Academy as Best album of the year. And we're all like, we're so excited. And then it was like, and we'll be doing it from your couch. That was when a bunch of us saw a lot of lost momentum. Not that we didn't keep our feet moving. We did. But then after that time ended, when things pick back up, it picks back up on whatever shiny, bright, new, not on. Well, wait. Been doing all the heavy lifting over here and carried it through a pandemic. What's up? And they're like, what? I don't know. This guy has a hat. Like, what? So there was a little bit of
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
a skirt whenever the pandemic happened. And I'm just going from memory, I think you were one of the first people that I saw that was like, I'm playing live on this thing.
Ryan Seacrest
Yeah.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Like, at the very beginning, you're stuck on your couch.
Ashley McBryde
I want you.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Before everybody started doing it, I remember seeing you go, I'm just gonna play shows live.
Ashley McBryde
Yeah. We'll just play them on my couch. I don't care. You don't have anything else to do? I don't have anything else to do. We don't know how long it's gonna be this way. Let's do something that we can look back on and go, what a scary time. But, oh, my gosh, that was so much fun. And I don't remember how many lives I did a week but it was fun. It was fun to do. And it kept me from despair. It did not keep me from tipping the drinking problem completely over the edge, but it kept me from losing hope. Because despair is really, really dangerous. Because you may not get back from that. If you allow yourself to be in the depths of. We haven't worked in however long and we never will again. If you allow that belief to set in. Man, that's a tough mud pit to climb out of. I kept my guitars in their flight cases in the hallway by my front door.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
For what reason?
Ashley McBryde
Because I will be putting them back on the bus. They need to stay visible so that I can put them back in a plane. Back in a bus. They're gonna be used a little bit
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
of a mind trick there.
Ashley McBryde
Yes.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
This new record, when's it coming out?
Ashley McBryde
Summer. That's what they told me. I could say you're just gonna.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
You're just a broad. Just when it gets warmer. Look on your phone and it might be there. Would you always do 11 tracks?
Ashley McBryde
It seems to work out that way.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
But is that a thing? If it's more than 11, it's bad luck.
Ashley McBryde
I love the number 11, but it's not like if it was a 10 track record, it would be a 10 track record. I wouldn't be like, well, we. Whatever this song is. What's it called? Paper Rose. Put that on there. I can't do that. But it seems like. And did we have 12 for this one? It almost ended up as 12.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
I think I thought 11 because I just saw that it was 11.
Redfin Advertiser
Yeah.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Am I right on that?
Ashley McBryde
It's 11 on every record. Okay, is Lindyville. Is even Lindyville 11 tracks? Because we took out one of the songs that was written for Lindyville to make 11, and then put in a Linda Ronstadt song. So I don't know if that one. That one might be 12.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Superstition.
Ashley McBryde
I think maybe once we did it two or three times that I was like, okay, it probably should be 11. But again, for this record, I was like, if it's 14, it's 14. If it's 10, it's 10.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
How many did you record?
Ashley McBryde
Everything we cut stayed on this record.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Wow. So you were very precious then with what you cut. So how many did you write that you considered cutting?
Ashley McBryde
Everything's always in the pile at the beginning. But I wanted to do something a little different on this record because I knew that there were. I knew I wanted Rattlesnake Preacher. I knew I wanted Water in the River. I Knew I wanted Creoso because I had been guided away, suggested away from cutting those three specific songs from the get go.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Why?
Ashley McBryde
Because nobody cares about that sound. Whatever. It's swampy, it's bluesy, it's been done. And I was like, but that's what I sound like. And they're like, whatever. We will delightfully, gently suggest that you not do that. So I was like, I want to do that, but I'm going to have to balance that out. And luckily my bread and butter is songs like Light on in the Kitchen. And so the acoustic finger picky stuff, I've got plenty of it we can choose from. But I knew to balance it out, really, to round that out, I was going to need to call my publishers. When I first got my publishing deal in 2014, I was sitting here in these rooms writing these songs and some of them were terrible and some of them were very good. And I would say to my co writers, man, every artist is a songwriter. So nobody's gonna cut our songs because nobody will listen to them because they aren't a writer, they aren't a producer, that's a writer. They're not an artist, that's a writer. They're not a track guy, that's a writer. And if somebody would just listen to my songs, they would cut them. So here I am, 2025, 2026, going, I'm the thing that I bitched about because I'm always on the road. I don't take time to go to writers nights and hear things. I don't call and ask what's going on in the writing world. Shame on me. Just like every song I write, I'm not the best voice for something that someone else wrote is. My story is for my voice and I've not been listening. So I asked my publishers to go song hunting.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Is that a conversation with your ego?
Ashley McBryde
Yeah, Especially because that's what I'm a songwriter first.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Yeah. Because I think you write awesome songs.
Ashley McBryde
Thank you.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
And for you to go, maybe I'd like to hear some other songs.
Ashley McBryde
What if I'm missing out on magic and it's okay? And it's not a marriage proposal, it's a pitch meeting. And you play me a bunch of songs and I don't take any of them.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
How'd it go the first time that happened? The first pitch meeting where they're playing you songs, were you already open to it?
Ashley McBryde
There was only one pitch meeting for this record.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Really?
Ashley McBryde
And I think they played me 12 or 15. I took five. Wow.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
So you were ready two more that
Ashley McBryde
I would cut today if I had room for them.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Yeah, then you were. Then you were ready then psychologically, emotionally.
Ashley McBryde
And I knew kind of what I was looking for, especially since I know what the ingredients already are. And I need to balance out this. The chick rock with a southern accent, things about trains and things about whatever. And I need to balance this out. And so I knew when I heard the ingredient. Yes, I think I need that. And even those. Well, I wound up taking five, six, seven songs and then going home and living with those and being able to go these five, they do the correct job. They help me tell this story. They feel natural in my bones when I sing them. And then the other two that I had on hold, I'll cut those as soon as I get a chance. That feels like letters are magic. They're just magic.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Feels like a new version that you have to like introduce yourself to because you've always been that person.
Ashley McBryde
I've always been the songwriter.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Yeah. And so now. But I think you have to be comfortable with yourself as a songwriter to listen to other songs. Like there's no. I should say there's no. Because to do anything in the creative world you have to be insecure. Like I'm tack that to the wall. But I think there's a security in your songwriting now within you. This is me just saying, you can tell me if I'm wrong, that you now can listen to other songs because you're confident with who you are as a songwriter.
Ashley McBryde
Yeah, we know I can write a song.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Yeah. It doesn't make you feel less than to write somebody else's song because you know you can write a song, right?
Ashley McBryde
Yeah. I would say I feel. I feel good about the songs that I've written that I've put out that I continue to write. And I just knew I was missing out on Magic.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
What's a magic song that you heard?
Ashley McBryde
Wild. The co writers on that are Mikaela Lynn, Jeremy Spillman and Matresa Berg.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
What about that song Stuck Ya.
Ashley McBryde
The melody. We haven't heard a melody like this since. Remember the Chicks record Home? The song Home. Maya Sharp's a writer on that. That melody where you're like, what? That's not a traditional country melody. This was brave in that direction and brave that it made sense. Not defiantly like here's a weird chord. And when it did that I was like, oh, I'm interested. And then lyrically there's a phrase and it's a question in the chorus and it's do the razor wire white picket fences Keep you from running for miles and then your picture in your brain. For me it's my mom, my sister, my aunts, my grandmother's razor wire white picket fences. Is it everything you wanted it to be? Or is it a trap? And am I the representation of what's on the other side of that fence that did not get trapped, that lives her life as a vagabond and that just goes from town to town. So when I heard that phrase in that song, that was magic to me. And. Oh, there's a song. Oh. She asks in the first verse. Where do you go when you're dreaming? You with the faraway stare do you ever take me with you when you go there? And I knew who she was singing to. She was singing to me. The little me in my bedroom, playing my guitar, just knowing that I'm gonna be a star someday. And imagining what I would look like and what I would walk like and what I would wear and I would be in like cool jeans and like a ripped up leather jack and a white T shirt and I would just be so cool and I would walk so cool that it looks like I'm animated or I look like I came off of a video game. I'm that cool. That's who this song is written to, is that little girl. And when I hear it and I take this in and I'm getting ready to sing it, then I realize while I'm cutting it with my band, those little boys are who are performing this song with me right now that dreamt of what they would be like when we grow up. Oh my God. That thing exists still very much in all of us. And they've been napping in some cases and we can wake that up. This song does that. And it's not because it's my voice. You could sing it and it would wake everything up too. And then realizing that, oh my God. That's the kind of. The whole thing of the live show is that's who I bring onto the stage and that's the you that I want to sing to. The part of you that dreamt who you would be. And people like me. And people like you. I am what I want to be when I grow up.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
That's funny you say that. I was just thinking, I had the thought the other day that I finally think young me would think I'm cool. Just now. Yes, just now. Like I think 8 year old me would be like, that guy's cool.
Ashley McBryde
That guy's got it going on. Yeah, she would think I'm so dope. She would love my leather jacket. And adult me plays an electric guitar, which I was not allowed to have when I was little. I could play the acoustic guitar, but electric guitars make you lazy, which is not true. They help you learn scales real fast and get a grasp on lead, but that's true.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
I have a niece that's learning guitar right now, and she's learning on electric. And I said, man, I wish you
Ashley McBryde
wouldn't learn on electric for your strength and your dexterity. You really should start out on acoustic, but you should start to work, I think, electric in. So that you don't get married to only rhythm. You don't get married to only cowboy chords. It's going to be way easier on her hands to learn bar chords in different formations on an electric, which hopefully will encourage her to play above the fourth fret. You know, which I didn't have. I do now. But it was me being like, still. I have to be like, E, F, F sharp, G, G sharp, A. And my guitar player's like, c is right there. And I'm like, no, hang on. F, F sharp, G.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Did you ever have a moment where you're like, I now deserve a really nice guitar? Did you go get your first, like, really nice guitar?
Ashley McBryde
Definitely. When I have a Santa Cruz that I bought when I was 16 in Mountain View, Arkansas, at Signal Hill Music Store, which was very expensive for me at the time, and I paid it. We made a deal, the shop and my parents, that I would send money every month to. I just paid it off. It was my first version, Laleya, but
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
you got it right.
Ashley McBryde
It's my first version of, like, a car note. I had a guitar note, and I. I learned great lessons on that, and I loved that guitar. It's an incredible instrument. And then as I'm playing in bars and everything, things start happening to hug and beers get spilled on him, and he gets bumped into stuff, and this case isn't sturdy enough. And then I'm like, what am I gonna get? I think at one point I played a tailor because the electronics were great. And then when I was like, I need a nice guitar, and I knew I wanted a J45 because there's such a workhorse and I'm a bluegrass girl from the word Go. So Martin, of course. But I knew that a J45 cuts through well in a PA and cuts through well in a band setting, and you could build a house with it and then play a show with it. It's really Hard to damage them. And that's Dinah that you usually see me play at the Opry. And boy does have some dings from me trying to build a house with her. And I didn't know how to save up. I didn't know how to get a nice guitar at first. So I learned what songs to play to make more chips so I could save up and buy a new guitar. No one handed me a thing. Not my pa, not how to run it, not the truck I was driving, not the topper that kept most of the water off of it. And I would get that at the bar. Is that your husband's truck? No, it's your husband's truck, isn't it?
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Well, for me, I would resent having to do everything for so long until I then later got to a point where then I understood how to do everything. And I was so grateful that I knew how to do everything. Yes, for two reasons. One, I was grateful because I knew how to do it just in case anything ever went wrong. And then two, I actually appreciated the people that were doing it.
Ashley McBryde
Yes.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Because I had done it before.
Ashley McBryde
I can wire my own pedal board. I mean, I don't know if I could do it today because it's been so long since I've had to set my own up. But knowing that if something goes wrong, I can troubleshoot it was really comforting. And like you said, now when somebody sets something up for me, I appreciate, especially if something goes wrong on my current pedal board, all I can do is turn something on and turn something off. The knowledge that surrounds how pedals have progressed and how all of the things. How power supplies have progressed and all of that. 80 wires under there. There's one. I don't know how this works. I have such an appreciation, and I was offended a little bit at first when I wasn't setting up my mic stand. How's it gonna be right? And a bandmate said, well, it's gonna be right because that's his job. He knows where your mouth is according to his height. And I'm like, but I can set up. I've been set up my own stuff for 20 years. I did it myself. And what's posed to me by the bandmate is, that's right. And maybe you've earned your right to have someone else do it for you. And I was like, I mean, gross. But thanks.
Podcast Host (Bobby Cast)
The Bobby cast. We'll be right back.
Ryan Seacrest
Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. It's stock up savings time now through March 31st bring in for storewide deals and earn four times the points. Look for in store tags to earn uneligible items from Activia, General Mills, Nature Valley, A and W, Monster Energy, Energy Coffee Mate and Pete's Coffee. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event long savings. Stack up those rewards to save even more. Enjoy savings on top of savings when you shop in store or online for easy drive up and go pickup or delivery restrictions apply. See website for terms and conditions.
Podcast Host (Bobby Cast)
Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable income index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available@public.com disclosures let's talk about modern home shopping.
Redfin Advertiser
It's sort of become a fun side hobby, right? Scrolling listings at night, dreaming about kitchens you've never seen or backyards you haven't even stepped foot in. All from the comfort of pretty much anywhere. Redfin knows a lot of people like you want to own but are stuck in this browsing mode loop. That's where Redfin flips the script with listings that update within minutes and tours you can book right from the Redfin app you can see your dream home the moment it appears. Now, liking a listing is easy, but actually landing it? That's where Redfin comes in. Redfin has over 2200 agents with local expertise and Redfin agents close twice as many deals as other agents. That means they want to help you win, not just window shop. Redfin is built to help you go from just looking to wait. This could actually be home so become the newest neighbor on the block. Visit redfin.com to start finding and start owning. That's redfin.com we're lost. It feels like we're going round in circles. I'm gonna ask that man for directions. Hi there. We're trying to get to the state fairgrounds.
T-Mobile/US Cellular Announcer
Well, you're going to take a left at the old oak tree at this here road.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Nah, I'm just kidding.
T-Mobile/US Cellular Announcer
Let me get my phone out.
Redfin Advertiser
How is their signal out here?
T-Mobile/US Cellular Announcer
T Mobile and US Cellular are coming together so the network out here is huge. We get the same great signal as the city, saving a boatload with benefits. And there's a five year price guarantee too. Oh, okay, here's the turn.
Redfin Advertiser
Actually, can you pull up the way to a T Mobile store?
T-Mobile/US Cellular Announcer
America's best network just got bigger. Switch to T Mobile today and get built in benefits the other guys leave out. Plus our five year price guarantee. And now T Mobile is available at US Cellular stores in hermiston. Best mobile network based on analysis by Ooklo Spess Intelligence data second half of 2025. Bigger network. The combination of T Mobile's and US Cellular's network footprints will enhance the T mobile network's coverage price guarantee on talk text and data exclusions like taxes and fees apply. See t mobile.com for details. Details.
Podcast Host (Bobby Cast)
This is the Bobby Cast.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
What I found so interesting about Nashville and just touring is you're at whatever level and you're moving up, but now you got to spend more money. When you get up, but now you've, now you have a song, well, now you got to spend more. It's always this game of you're having done the more money you're making, more, more money has to be invested into. So it's almost never like just straight. You just get all this extra money because it mostly turns into, well, now we gotta get trucks. Now we need multiple buses.
Ashley McBryde
And I was like, oh my gosh, a truck. And then I was like, oh my God, a truck. We have to have this. How small of a lighting rig can we use?
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Yeah, that's a crazy part of the touring here is that it just keeps costing more money.
Ryan Seacrest
Yeah.
Ashley McBryde
It never sucks.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
You have more success in making it, but you have to then spend more money to make this or at least feel like the show is bigger.
Ashley McBryde
Yeah. And then the more equipment you have, the more hands it takes to run that equipment. That's more mouths to be responsible for making sure that they eat and their family eats. And then there's the pressure is now we have to have enough success to keep enough growth to keep growing, because everything will keep. Keep costing more and asking more of us. And being the woman behind the ship's wheel and going it's this way, knowing how many people are hungry if you're wrong, we.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Put that pressure on yourself, huh?
Ashley McBryde
Absolutely. I will Sherpa it everywhere with me, and it helps me make great decisions, especially now that I'm not a drunk. Well, a drunk living a sober life.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Have you felt different creatively since you've stopped drinking?
Ashley McBryde
Yeah, I think so. I was really, really worried, and I'm sure that there were some real turds that I wrote, and there were some times where anger kept trying to be a co writer, and those don't make very valuable songs.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
I don't understand what you're saying.
Ashley McBryde
And also, nobody cares if you're mad to where you're like, well, I can't write that because I don't drink anymore. And then you're mad at that. Well, now you're okay, well, now the song is shot, so stop. Try it again. As an adult, it's okay to access anger. It's okay to use it as a tool. It's not okay to let it drive the car. Then I had to remeat myself as a writer. I've been drinking since I was 12. Oh, that's. Sorry, Mom. My friend Blair's sister gave me a bottle of Crown Royal when I was 12. So technically 12, but I've been drinking. There isn't anything where alcohol wasn't already just part of the recipe. So extracting that and then learning how to create without that element, it's a learning curve. And getting it out of my way, I was able to re meet myself. And then I found out that the quirkiness, like the stuff that's in Lindyville and things like that, there was more of it. That was really me. That wasn't soused me, that wasn't pickled me. Those were moments where actual me was writing the song and then being like, oh, gosh, this gives me hope. Follow that. And things that are very heartfelt, and I had more colors to color with, and I just didn't know. It's like you came in and just pulled a sheet off of this giant easel and paint set, and I was like, there's more blues than this. And after I re met myself and decided that when I'm angry or I think something, that feeling that something is missing that's never gonna leave, that part of your brain is still over here going, you still want that? You're like, no, I don't. You're an idiot. You have to make room for that feeling. Whether it shows up as sadness or anger or frustration or whatever, you're gonna have to look at it and go, there is room for you. May I continue writing my song?
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Now, when you look back at your body of work, is there a concept that you look back on and go, man, and that was awesome.
Ashley McBryde
Oh, I'm so proud of our records.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Like a songwriting, a song, a concept where you're like, man, that. Not just the lyrics, but the idea behind the song that you just. It feels. Still feels so original.
Ashley McBryde
Stone. Stone's a tough one, but I still think that if anyone else had been in the room, if any other two people besides Nicolette Hayford and myself had tried to write a song about the fact that both of us have lost our siblings, I think we did the right thing by saying, Stone, that we were cut from the same stone, and then talking about. Especially since we'd both lost a brother, instead of only saying, I miss you so much, and I'm so sad you're gone, and I'm so angry you're gone. Saying the different things that you learned from that sibling about the rolling ones and the throwing ones and that way, there was all of those feelings in there, but I didn't have to spell it out. Nobody to feed that to you. Us making those references give you the feeling. And then when you're like, oh, yeah, she's talking about rocks. And then to end that with, we were cut from the same stone, and you're like, oh, boy, they wrote the tar out of that. Really, really proud of that one. That's tough, though. It's hard to play that song live.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Really?
Ashley McBryde
Yeah.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Even if you played a hundred times, you still feel it.
Ashley McBryde
I have played it live three times ever.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Oh, you haven't played it much because of that. Wow.
Ashley McBryde
We tried it full band one time, like, different rooms. You know how you'll get to a theater and like, that. You're like, oh, my gosh, this theater really needs to hear whatever. Like, this theater would be perfect for, like, Chicago the Musical or whatever. We got in one. And I said, this room wants stone, and it did. And we tried it in soundcheck, tried it in rehearsal, and when we got to the bridge where I say, there's a lot of things that should be written in one, but your name ain't one of them. Quinn Hill plays a military cadence on his snare drum, and I Lost it. Like, you know how I start to cry? And then you're like, you'll get it together. And I can get through this line. There was no. It was like, slobber. Baha cry. And then I was. After just. I was like. And I was like, okay, we're not doing that one. What a power, though. If that's not magical or witchcraft, what is to conjure a feeling like that? And we wrote the song. I know what's in it. And for those words and sounds to still create that emotion, that's, like, the coolest thing being a songwriter, being a creative is the coolest thing I could ever hope for anyone to experience.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
What's the coolest thing about being a country star?
Ashley McBryde
The coolest thing about being a country star? You mean something simple, like having. Having institutions like the Grand Ole Opry to lean on? I think the most valuable thing for us as country stars is knowing compared to other genres, maybe we're more accessible. If I want to go to Lucinda Williams and say, your records changed my life, I may have that opportunity. It's never painted to look such a way that you may never reach or speak to or you totally can. And that's what we're for. We're not here to be a mythical creature. We're here because regular stuff happens, and somebody needs it to rhyme.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
And people that to you. Yeah.
Ashley McBryde
Yeah. Especially growing up in the bluegrass world, the best flat picker you've ever seen in your life, you can go talk to him. That's how I learned to play guitar, going to bluegrass festivals when I was little, with a little guitar, and I was terrible, and I only knew a chord. And being able to go to those guys and be like, how do you make. When you do your hand this way, how do you make this sound instead of just this strum? Having access. I think that's. I think being a star and it not meaning in any way better than. Sometimes it's louder than. Sometimes it's more sparkly than. And sometimes it's more traveled than. But it's never better than. And that's not the point of our genre.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
I guess what I meant was. And then you. I mean, the people now get to do that to you. Where you got to do that to people.
Ashley McBryde
Yeah. I just experienced that the other night at the Opry.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
What happened?
Ashley McBryde
During our set, a young girl and her mom came to the very, very front during Light on in the Kitchen, and they sang every single word, both of them. And I even mentioned to the audience, I can't. I Can't look at that. When that happens, I will cry. You know me. And I thought it was such a great moment. Well, we stayed a little bit late after the Opry. They came to kick us out. The tours are starting. We're like, oh, we gotta leave. Guitars are on our backs. We're walking out. And the after the Opry tour came through, and a group of people went, and we're like, oh, goodnight, guys. And then this group stopped. And in that group was that young girl and her parents. And I was starstruck. I was like, oh, my gosh, you're the girl from the front row. I tried to throw you a pic. I couldn't. I went over your head. And she came and introduced herself, and she's so well spoken. And she said, my name is Sawyer June, and my family and I grow and harvest pecans, and I would love to give you a bag of pecans, and I love pecans. And we chit chatted. And everybody that has to do with the tour is being so nice and calm while we have this minute to talk. And she gave me a sticker, and I signed a sticker for her. And I don't have my. I think I still have lashes on, but I don't have my extensions in. And I'm in a leather jacket. And I don't look like a woman of country music. I look like the chick I thought I was gonna be when I grew up. And her mom says she sings, too. And I said, oh, okay. Do you sing? She said, yeah, I sing. I really love to sing Bible in a 44. And I had two guitars right there as we were getting ready to leave, and I said, well, let's get a guitar out. You and I should sing together.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
No way.
Ashley McBryde
And, you know, like, coming in the artist entrance, where it's just like concrete floor. So we sat on the rug and I played and she sang, and I sang harmony with her. Bobbi. She looked me in the eye the whole song, and in her eyes, it looked like a forest fire. And it was just magical. And the way she shaped her vowels was so itself. It wasn't put on. And there was no, like, young child actor, Broadway vibrato. This was a young girl who sounds the way she sounds at her age, and she knows every word. And she has worked out when her breaths are in the song compared to where mine would be. And she's not thrown off by this gross woman singing harmonies with her or the whole tour. Singing the last chorus with us, and at the end of us singing Together. She said, oh, it's gonna tear me up with her little pouty lip. She said, you're my favorite singer, and you always will be. And I said, same. It was so magic. We posted it on socials, and people are commenting about how good she sounds, which is true, and how lovely of a moment this is, which is true. And how I changed her life, which might be tr, but she changed mine. She's proof that I am what I want to be. I saw the spark in her eyes. It is there. And I put more wood on the fire, and we might watch her walk across the Opry stage someday. I hope I do. I hope I will see her do that. That's the whole point of anything we do, is to make more of it. If we don't make more of it, we're the last. I don't know if she's 10 or 12. She also plays guitar, by the way. I looked her videos up, and she. It reminds me of me. And when I was little, I was 12, my mom had some friends. They were in a band called the Cluster Pluckers. Fantastic musicianship in that band. And we knew a couple of the players, and we came to Nashville for Spigma to go to the bluegrass convention, and. And they worked on Opry campus. And mom said, well, can we come say hi? And blah, blah, blah. So we did. We went and saw them, walked around to do whatever. And she said, is there any chance that we can get in the Opry house and let Ashley see the stage? And Richard said, sure. No problem. So he went to an office, grabbed a guitar on the back. You remember whiteout pens on the back of the guitar. It's written, please don't steal me. I'm cheap in white out pen. And he took me to the stage, and I stood in the circle at 12 years old with this much understanding of what is happening to me right now. And I sang Peach Pickin Time in Georgia because it was my favorite song at the time. And that moment, for me at 12, is this moment sitting in the floor at the Opry for her. I paid it forward. I did the right thing. It's the circle of life. Like it's happening. We're creating new ones, and we're appreciating the old ones. And we're here, and I'm an Opry member, and this is crazy, and I'm not drunk, and I can remember it. And that's magic. That is magic. And if it doesn't make you tear up, call your mom. Call your mom. Let's take a quick pause for a
Podcast Host (Bobby Cast)
message from our sponsor.
Ryan Seacrest
Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. It's stock up savings time now through March 31st. Spring in for storewide deals and earn four times the points. Look for in store tags to earn on eligible items from Oreo, Haagen, Dazs, Charmin, Tide, Sparkling Ice, Reese's and Special K. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event long savings. Stack up those rewards to save even more. Enjoy savings on top of savings when you shop in store or online for easy drive up and go pickup or delivery restrictions apply. See website for terms and conditions.
Podcast Host (Bobby Cast)
Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available@public.com disclosures let's talk about modern home shopping.
Redfin Advertiser
It's sort of become a fun side hobby, right?
Ashley McBryde
Right.
Redfin Advertiser
Scrolling listings at night, dreaming about kitchens you've never seen or backyards you haven't even stepped foot in. All from the comfort of pretty much anywhere. Redfin knows a lot of people like you want to own but are stuck in this browsing mode loop. That's where Redfin flips the script with listings that update within minutes and tours you can book right from the Redfin app. You can see your dream home the moment it appears. Now liking a listing is easy, but actually landing it. That's where Redfin comes in. Redfin has over 2200 agents with local expertise and Redfin agents close twice as many deals as Other agents. That means they want to help you win. Not just window shop. Redfin is built to help you go from just looking to wait. This could actually be home. So become the newest neighbor on the block. Visit redfin.com to start finding and start owning. That's redfin.com we're lost. It feels like we're going round in circles. I'm going to ask that man for directions. Hi there. We're trying to get to the state fairgrounds.
T-Mobile/US Cellular Announcer
Well, you're going to take a left at the old oak tree at this here road.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Nah, I'm just kidding.
T-Mobile/US Cellular Announcer
Let me get my phone out.
Redfin Advertiser
How is there signal out here?
T-Mobile/US Cellular Announcer
T Mobile and US Cellular are coming together. So the network out here is huge. We get the same great signal as the city. Saving a boatload with benefits. And there's a five year price guarantee too. Okay, here's the turn.
Redfin Advertiser
Actually, can you pull up the way to a T Mobile store?
T-Mobile/US Cellular Announcer
America's best network just got bigger. Switch to T Mobile today and get built in benefits the other guys leave out. Plus our five year price guarantee. And now T Mobile is available at US Cellular stores in Hermiston. Best mobile network based on analysis by Uklovs B test intelligence data. Second half of 202025 bigger network. The combination of T Mobile's and US Cellular's network footprints will enhance the T mobile network's coverage price guarantee on talk text and data exclusions like taxes and fees apply. CT mobile.com for details.
Podcast Host (Bobby Cast)
And we're back on the bobbycast.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
One of my favorite things about being able to do this, especially in a long form, you know, spoken back and forth is that people get to bring music they appreciate.
T-Mobile/US Cellular Announcer
Yeah.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
And, and so we just kind of say, hey, if there's like a record that influenced you so much, feel free to bring it by and donate it to our influence collection. We have a whole collection of it here. And so you mentioned Lucinda Williams.
Ashley McBryde
Yes.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Would you mind picking that album up, showing it to the camera and then just telling me why this matters to you so much.
Ashley McBryde
Car wheels on a gravel road top to bottom the most perfect listen I've ever encountered. 1990. Some of the things that I loved about Lucinda from the get go was and I didn't know anything about her. I just. A friend of mine gave me a burned CD of this, totally pirated. I've bought enough copies since then to make up for that. And I put it in and I heard Car wheels on a gravel road which is track two. And I thought, well that's really Cool. And then I heard song three, too Cool to Be Forgotten. And I thought, what an interesting concept. Too cool to be forgotten. Hey, hey. And there's a part of the song where she says, june bug versus Hurricane. She says it over and over, june bug versus Hurricane. And I'm like, yeah, that's the life I want to live is number one. I want to be too cool to be forgotten. And. And the music business is Junebug versus Hurricane. Like, come on. That makes me want to be a June bug. There isn't anything I could skip on this record from the very first listen. Drunken angel, if you're tuning in and you've never heard that song, please listen to it. It's amazing. She never tries to be anything she isn't. And sometimes she doesn't say a complete syllable, but that's because you didn't need all of the syllables in that word for you to feel the way she wanted you to feel. What she was singing about you. You get it where even if she throws something away, like in I Can't Let Go, when she says, I feel like I've been shot and didn't fall down. Didn't fall down is not a word. You know exactly how she feels. And those words that she said, if. And oh, my God. The very last track on this record, Jackson moves me to Tears. And I would sing it. I mean, you could just pick me three other artists to sing it with right now. We could sing it acapella, four part harmony, and just. I would be completely happy. Over the years when people have said, one record, you listen one record the rest of your life, it's cartwheels on a gravel road.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
What did you learn from that record?
Ashley McBryde
Oh, wow. Actually, I learned to play harmonica because of this record, because of Drunken Angel. It had a harmonica part that I wanted to play. I put Can't Let Go in my shutter. Joy is on this record. And the entire song is, you took my joy. And I want it back. Right? And I'm gonna go to different locations. I'm gonna go to West Memphis and look for my joy. Look for my joy. And I was like. As repetitive as that song is, it doesn't ever feel repetitive. It feels. It doesn't feel boring. It feels like you're starting to feel the way she feels. By the third verse, you're feeling the way she felt when she started writing it down. You took my joy. I want it back. And then by the time she gets down far enough in the song, she's not even saying back anymore. She's just saying. And that kind of frustration, I was like, okay. Repetition isn't always mundane. And I had the chance to meet Lucinda Williams. We played a show at Skydiving last summer, two summers ago. And I am a. At the time, I'm a 40 year old woman. I am grown as I can be. And it was all I could do to keep my jaw from hitting myself in the stomach. I was just like, Ms. Lucinda, it's very nice to meet you. And my face is, like, shaky and you know, like, you know how it is when you meet somebody and they ask you to sign something and their handshakes. That's how I was. And I know she noticed because I heard her band make comments about it, like, later. And yes, I'm a fan of music. That's how, that's how I got here.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
New album comes out this summer.
Ashley McBryde
Yeah.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
We're dead set on 11 tracks.
Ashley McBryde
I'm dead set on it.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Okay. Just making sure. Yeah, man. I just. I just love your generosity with. With this, the stories and just you being you. Like, I've always loved it, so I don't know. That's just what I want to say to you.
Ashley McBryde
I love sitting and talking to you. Plus seeing another Arkansan.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
We're the two that made it.
Ashley McBryde
I know, I know. And when I met May Estes, I was like, oh, my God, you're from Arkansas.
T-Mobile/US Cellular Announcer
Yeah.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Same with May. Like, I was instantly drawn because there's just, like you said way earlier, like, when you come from where we come from, you kind of have to learn to do it yourself.
Ashley McBryde
Yeah.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
You have to be. And so even with maybe, like, we would sit and talk and like, she's got it.
Ashley McBryde
She does.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
She's gotta figure out which direction to point it sometimes, but she's got it. And so it's funny you mentioned May. I love Mae, and you're just the best. So thank you for spending time with me again. I always really, really just value the time.
Ashley McBryde
Thank you. I do, too. I love it so much. And I know when we do, like, events and red carpets and all that, all we ever get to do is wave at each other.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
But I just know in my heart, it's more than just a wave.
Ashley McBryde
Same. And I've got your back.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Yeah, same. Yeah, same. Okay, that's. That's, that's amazing when the record comes out and, you know, in the summertime, we'll do something again and make sure everybody knows. We have to remind people 100 times over and over again, but Arkansas Mud, that song that Song's awesome.
Ashley McBryde
Thank you.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
And initially I was like, okay, it's got my state in. Let me just hear it. Because I know you represent as well. I told you that first line. I was like, oh, she's going hard. I like the whole beginning of it too, where it's just a build, just to music. Just the music. And you don't have to.
Ashley McBryde
The guys are so good.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
You don't have many extended intros anymore in songs because everybody's, you know. But I think that now is what makes them stand out so much, especially when they're good.
Ashley McBryde
And if we were to hit you right in the face with bom bom,
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
it'd still be good.
Ashley McBryde
But it might be a little. It might have too many teeth and you might be like, ah, I agree.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
I love it. I love it.
Ashley McBryde
I'm so glad you do. My guys are so good. And with John Osborne, he produced the record.
Podcast Host (Bobby Cast)
Yes.
Ashley McBryde
With him. There's a magic thing that happens when John Osborne and I are in the same room with each other. And putting him in charge of my band, guys, is incredible.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Did he ever just grab a guitar and be like, no, like this?
Ashley McBryde
Sometimes he would grab a mandolin, Sometimes he'd grab a guitar. Oh, yeah. And when we were cutting, I wanna say it was wild. It might have been behind bars. He started dismantling the front of the piano while Wesley was playing it and moving more microphones over there. He's like, just keep playing. And he's just taking stuff off. Cause he wanted to get the mic closer to the felt on the hammers. And I think in my band there's three arcane and I want we should look it up. That might be the federal limit.
Ryan Seacrest
That's the limit.
Ashley McBryde
Yeah.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Thank you. I will end with that. You're awesome. I'll end with that instead. There she is. Ashley McBride.
Podcast Host (Bobby Cast)
Thanks for listening to a Bobby Cast production.
Ryan Seacrest
Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. It's stock up savings time now through March 31st. Spring in for storewide deals and earn four times the points. Look for in store tags to earn uneligible items from Lays, Jack Links, Cheez it Classico, Hidden Valley and Best Foods. Then click the offer in the app for automatic event long savings. Stack up those rewards to save even more. Enjoy savings on top of savings. When you shop in store or online for easy drive up and go pick up or delivery restrictions apply. See website for terms and conditions.
Podcast Host (Bobby Cast)
T Mobile has the best plan on the best network. Just ask Kevin Bacon.
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
Today, business happens virtually every everywhere.
Ashley McBryde
That's why you need Super Mobile from
Interviewer (Bobby Bones)
T Mobile the best Plan on the Best network Letting you run your business from your phone like never before in moments of high demand, T Mobile's network adapts to put your business connection first.
Podcast Host (Bobby Cast)
Discover more@supermobile.com best business plan based on
T-Mobile/US Cellular Announcer
combination of advanced network performance, coverage layers and security features.
Podcast Host (Bobby Cast)
Best Network based on analysis by ooglips
Ashley McBryde
B test intelligence data 1H 2025 Google
T-Mobile/US Cellular Announcer
trademarks user license and reprinted with permission
Public Service Announcer (Sean Dynasty)
I'm US Transportation Secretary Sean Dynasty we all seem to be in a rush these days. From work to driving our kids around. But when you're behind the wheel, please do not speed. A few minutes saved by going faster is never worth the risk. So follow the speed limit, enjoy the drive, maybe bring some snacks for the kids. And know that along the way you're getting quality time with your family.
T-Mobile/US Cellular Announcer
Paid for by NHTSA.
Public Service Announcer (Sean Dynasty)
Are you a fraud paying American? 1 in 4 tax paying Americans has been a victim of Identity Fraud with LifeLock. If your identity is stolen, they fix it guaranteed or your money back. Last year billions in refunds were stolen. Could be from your salary, overtime or second job gone. But this year you don't need to stay a victim because this tax season, fraud paying American is something no American should have to claim. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit lifelock.com iheart Terms apply this is an iheart podcast.
Ashley McBryde
Guaranteed human.
Podcast: The Bobby Bones Show / Bobbycast
Host: Bobby Bones (Premiere Networks)
Guest: Ashley McBryde
Date: March 10, 2026
Episode Title: Ashley McBryde on Rehab after Almost Dying, Recovery & Opening a NA Bar on Broadway
This deeply personal and candid episode features acclaimed singer-songwriter Ashley McBryde as she discusses her struggles with alcoholism, her journey to sobriety—including a life-saving intervention and rehab—her creative process post-recovery, and the launch of her innovative non-alcoholic (NA) bar, Redemption, on Nashville’s Broadway. The conversation ranges from honest confessions and emotional reflections to the mechanics of making music and building community in Nashville, all captured through McBryde’s unfiltered storytelling and wit.
Song Origin & Lyrical Honesty:
"I did. I tried it all, and it didn’t work…And as I’ve had to say over the last three years, I’m a drunk." (04:12–04:23)
Hidden Addiction:
"If you were around me prior to three years, nine months, six weeks, and however many days ago, I was drunk. Sorry. I am sorry." (05:12)
On Losing Control & Hitting Bottom:
"When it went off the rails, it went off the rails in a big way…It was intervention style." (04:23, 07:47)
Reluctance & Acceptance:
"There’s no way I’m doing this for 30 days. That’s insane. I don’t live under a bridge. I didn’t hurt anybody…" (11:27)
Why She Stayed:
"I was gonna die. Yeah, that’s…I mean, that’s the reason I had to go there. Intervention style." (12:00)
A Moment of Clarity:
"I cannot fathom or make up for how much I put them through. And that’s another reason to stay, is I didn’t die and I have the chance right now." (13:28)
Creativity Without Alcohol:
"Are you any good? Not drunk?" (17:15)
"If I fix this, am I even interesting?" (17:25)
Embracing New Tools from Therapy:
"I had to learn about why the things happen, how the habits form...what a reticular activating system is…confirmation bias…" (18:03)
Purpose Behind Non-Alcoholic Bar:
"It’s the only place on Broadway where you can order anything on the menu. It already comes without alcohol, and you’re welcome to put alcohol in it if you’d like to." (23:04)
A Place for All—and a Platform for Up-and-Coming Artists:
"Now there’s a place you can go and hear music and experience community and hanging out." (24:16)
Building a Career from the Ground Up:
The Shift from Community to Competition:
"We get farther together feeling…" (32:02)
"Even if there’s 10 of us, we know only one of these girls is getting the stool at the bar." (33:22)
Pandemic’s Impact:
Maintaining Hope in Uncertainty:
"Because I will be putting them back on the bus. They need to stay visible…" (36:49)
Number 11:
Opening up to Song Pitches:
"I would cut today if I had room for them…They help me tell this story. They feel natural in my bones when I sing them." (40:47–41:04)
Magic Songs & Artistic Connection:
"That’s the whole thing of the live show…I am what I want to be when I grow up." (44:42–45:38)
Most Original Song Concept:
Privilege and Responsibility of Accessibility:
"That’s the whole point of anything we do, is to make more of it. If we don’t make more of it, we’re the last." (65:05)
"Too Cool to Be Forgotten…that’s the life I want to live is…to be too cool to be forgotten." (72:39)
On Sobriety and Creativity:
"I was literally, before I ever popped on the scene, dubbed the whiskey drinking badass. So now I need you to give me the tools to not do it." – Ashley McBryde (16:06)
On Acceptance:
"I didn’t make a sober record, but I did make a record about being a drunk and almost dying and not dying." – Ashley McBryde (19:54)
On the Power of Music and Community:
"We’re not here to be a mythical creature. We’re here because regular stuff happens, and somebody needs it to rhyme." – Ashley McBryde (61:43)
On Impacting the Next Generation:
"I saw the spark in her eyes…And I put more wood on the fire, and we might watch her walk across the Opry stage someday. I hope I do." – Ashley McBryde (65:05)
Ashley McBryde displays rare vulnerability and wit throughout this conversation, offering an honest account of addiction, recovery, and creative evolution. Her story highlights the complexities of the music industry, pressures of success, and the importance of community—both within Nashville and with her fans. The episode stands out for its raw honesty, relatability, and insights into how hardship, resilience, and kindness shape not only a career, but a life well-lived.