April 13th, 2017… the Allstate Arena, just a few miles outside of Chicago.
I should’ve been at this show, but ended up missing it (which I detailed very thoroughly in this article shortly after… spoiler alert: I ended up married to that girl). But anyways, that night when Eric took the stage, he introduced us to the incredible artist we now know as Ashley McBryde.
During his Holding My Own Tour, he brought Ashley out to perform her song “Bible and a .44,” and the rest was history.
“I mentioned I had a guest and there’s a young lady here who I have become a massive fan of and you guys are gonna be a massive fan of her real soon. She’s just starting this journey of her career and she’s unquestionable my favorite artist out right now that’s not out yet, but she will be real soon. So I invited her to come out and just here and I are gonna do an acoustic song that she wrote. And she’s a whiskey drinking badass, that’s what she is… please make welcome miss Ashley McBryde.”
Now don’t get me wrong, Ashley had been busting her ass for years, grinding it out day by day like many musicians do, but when Eric speaks, people listen. And when Eric says someone is good, you listen. And he was right. Boy, was he right.
And now, two incredible albums later, Ashley is a household name, with an ACM New Female Artist of the Year Award, as well as a CMA New Artist Award under her belt. Not to mention a couple Grammy nominations.
I’ve been digging the HELL out of her new sophomore record, Never Will, but stumbled upon this old gem from back in the day today and just had to share it.
And she’s still a whiskey drinking badass.
Of course, these two reunited once again for a performance of “The Snake” at last year’s ACM Awards.`
