Ashley McBryde recently discussed whether being named a ‘hero’ of country music felt like a joy or a burden while having a chat with Variety. She said:
“It feels like a big responsibility. And I’m not constantly aware of it, because I’m always trying to get a crowd’s attention during the show. I’m always trying to create a cool space for everybody to have a good time. I’m always trying to prove that we’re worth listening to constantly.”
She continued by admitting having ‘self-doubts’ about her music:
“According to my therapist — who I’ll speak to in about 30 minutes — I don’t have to do that anymore. She was like, ‘How many Grammys do you have to win before you’re like, ‘I am this’?’ And I was like, ‘Whatever — I gotta go write some songs.'”
McBryde then shared a tip she gave to her collaborator, Lainey Wilson, on how to be more ‘settled’ on the road:
“I do really enjoy getting to do some mentorship and meet even more fresh, new upcoming artists and sit around and talk to them. With Lainey, she was like, ‘Well, what advice can you give me… just, like, immediately…’ And I said: ‘Never, ever, ever run out of baby wipes. There will be days where you’re at festivals and fairs and you don’t get to shower, for days at a time.'”
The singer further delved into her journey as a ‘country hero’ and how it felt to be at the current spot she’s now:
“[And] it has been really humbling… and I don’t say that in like a social media way, with a hashtag. It has been a really humbling thing to be placed in that position from time to time. So, to think of that as someone eventually saying [they were inspired to do this] to me and Lainey and Carly [Pearce], that feels like we’re carrying on the best part of tradition.”
Ashley also discussed the current state of songwriting and why it didn’t feel authentic:
“I don’t know when we decided to let people write songs about things that they don’t do. As far as like the singer-songwriter sentiment, I don’t know when we stopped demanding that of ourselves. Because I don’t sing anything that’s not true.”
The country star then criticized other songwriters for not being ‘honest’ about their life experiences in their lyrics:
“I think it’s really interesting to hear somebody who was born with a silver spoon in their mouth talk about how hard it is to grow tobacco when you couldn’t identify a tobacco plant if I showed it to you in a lineup, sir. And I don’t have any specific grievances there I just think the singer-songwriter portion of what we do is the most important part of what we do in country music.”
McBryde also promoted her latest album, ‘Devil I Know,’ during the chat, and delved into her new songs; you can read her full interview here where she further discussed her upcoming projects, collaborators, and details about her life as a country star.
