Ashley McBryde’s Sophomore Record Will Feature a Song About Late Brother
Ashley McBryde shares about her upcoming sophomore record and a song she penned for her late brother.
Ashley McBryde is no longer a “Girl Going Nowhere.” The critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter is gearing up to put the final touches on her sophomore record and explains the much thought out thematic process.
McBryde shared that with “Girl Going Nowhere,” the title of her debut album and current single on country radio, she could have gone down many different directions and explored a plethora of ideas, but ultimately chose against that, “especially [since the band and her] introducing [themselves] on the first record.”
“So on the second record we have the room to grow, [and] we took it. We have tendencies to be a little edgier than some people would like and so we didn’t shy away from it. We have the tendencies to write some kind of dark-sounding things, but still light-hearted, so we went in that direction,” explained McBryde on the sophomore album’s theme. “We weren’t afraid of it, at all. It’s been a really cool process.” The Warner Music Nashville recording artist will continue her collaboration with producer Jay Joyce and her band on this project, which she shared was recorded live together.
Apart from the musical direction of her yet-to-be-titled upcoming new album, McBryde also opened up and shared that an emotional and very personal song was penned for her late brother, Clay, who passed in June 2018. The 53-year-old had was an Iraq war veteran and an officer with the Russellville Police Department for 25 years.
“Two Birds, One Stone” was penned with frequent collaborator Nicolette Hayford, who shares in the experience of losing a sibling with McBryde. “If anybody can write about something gnarly and sad, we can probably find a way to do that in a positive way. It doesn’t have to be scary just because it’s sad.”
The song’s genesis was happenstance. The two were simply chatting when McBryde’s laughter stopped her in her tracks and made her realise the similarity between her and Clay’s laughters. “I teared up and she was like ‘Get your guitar.’ … Once we smelled blood in the water, we [went] for it.”
With this song, McBryde realized the universal importance of honesty, especially in penning down truths about one’s feelings. “I think we need that kind of honesty. We need to be able to do that for ourselves, and if we feel that way, other people feel that way. […] We owe it to each other to put that kind of honesty out there.”
McBryde is on tour across the country all summer long, with international stops in the fall. For tour dates and tickets, click here.
