Ashley Monroe Performs Hometown Concert at Knoxville’s Tennessee Theatre

As part of The Soundtrack of America: Made in Tennessee Tourism Initiative, Ashley Monroe's performance was live streamed in Chicago.

Ashley Monroe Performs Hometown Concert at Knoxville’s Tennessee Theatre
Photos by Katie Kauss

Heavy rain and a tornado threat didn’t deter Ashley Monroe fans from attending a concert on a Chicago street corner on Wednesday (May 25). As part of The Soundtrack of America: Made in Tennessee Tourism Initiative, Monroe’s performance was live streamed from Knoxville’s Tennessee Theatre to S. Michigan Avenue and Congress Parkway in Chicago.

“I can’t believe how lucky I am to have you all care enough to have you stand in the rain,” she told the crowd. “That is amazing. Thank you all! It’s not raining here and we’re inside and that’s not fair. I’m sorry!”

Photos by Katie Kauss

Photos by Katie Kauss

Born and raised in Knoxville, Monroe’s 50-minute set was a hometown concert. With her family in attendance, she told Sounds Like Nashville before the show that playing the historic venue will be like “a really pretty living room concert.” Meanwhile, she continued to wrap her mind around the live streaming capability. “This is so new age!” she adds.

Monroe credits fellow Tennessee natives Dolly Parton and Kenny Chesney as having a major impact on her dreams of becoming a singer.

“Knowing she was from East Tennessee as well made me feel like I could make my dreams come true too,” she explains. “Kenny Chesney too! I went to go see him at the Tennessee Valley Fair when I was seven and just had hearts coming out of my eyes. I remember him selling out that venue and thinking, ‘Wow! He made it!’ Little did I know he would sell out much larger venues in the future.”

Ashley Monroe (2)

Photo by Katie Kauss

Music runs deep in Monroe’s blood. She says the melodies she writes today remind her of home.

“I never fail to be inspired in the Smokey Mountains, it’s like I can feel the ghosts of the past,” she shares. “I am writing so much right now for me. The things that are coming out are my favorite songs I’ve ever written.”

While she is currently listening for what may be featured on her next album, Monroe has no immediate plans to record. Throughout her nearly hour set she performed nine songs off her previous two releases, The Blade and Like A Rose.

Photo by Katie Kauss

Photo by Katie Kauss

Backed by a fiddle player and guitarist, Monroe’s set included the autobiographical “Like A Rose,” what she calls her version of a love song with “Weed Instead of Roses,” the heartfelt “Has Anybody Ever Told You” and her first No. 1 song co-written with Miranda Lambert, “Heart Like Mine.”

Monroe pointed out her grandparents, mother, stepfather and cousins in the crowd mid-set. “My cousin over there taught me guitar chords. I’m surrounded by beautiful family in Knoxville, Tennessee,” she told the audience watching in Chicago before she gave away a trip to one deserving fan in the Windy City who drove two hours from Wisconsin to see her.

So what does Monroe tell that fan who will visit Tennessee for the very first time?

“They will absolutely love it. There is truly majestic beauty in every season. It’s hard not to get attached to something as strong yet sweet as Tennessee,” she concedes. “It steals your heart. It definitely will always have mine.”

Photo by Katie Kauss

Photo by Katie Kauss