Ashley Monroe and Lukas Nelson might just be two of the most underrated artists in the business.
But, aside from making great music, Ashley was recently diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer, and has been going through chemotherapy treatments over the last several months to treat it.
Other than releasing her own covers project and a Christmas album with her girl-band, Pistol Annies, her recent appearance with Lukas at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville was the first time she’s really been able to get out and attend a live show since everything happened with her health.
She says she only has two more months of chemo until she can hopefully put this all behind her, which is just great news:
“I got to get out of the house and SING and SEE LIVE MUSIC the other night with two of my best friends. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to do either lately.
(2 more months of chemo, then hopefully I’m HEALED. Thank you all for the prayers. I feel them all on a miracle level).”
But, the best part of the night was when Ashley took the stage with Lukas and his band, Promise of the Real, to sing the stunning title track to their album that was released earlier this year, A Few Stars Apart.
Lukas wrote the song after a close friend of the Nelson family, Nancy Meola, passed away in June of 2020. She was like a second mom to Lukas, and the grief was compounded by the fact that he and his family couldn’t be there in person to deal with the loss:
“Her loss was probably the peak of despair for us during the pandemic. I was in Austin and we couldn’t be in Maui at the time. We couldn’t see her. My mom, being one of her best friends, couldn’t see her.”
One night, he was out looking at the Texas sky while on the phone with a friend, and he remembers saying that line, “We’re just a few stars apart,” before he even knew Nancy had passed away:
“I feel like it was Nancy’s spirit writing the song. It’s Nancy telling us, ‘That’s where I live now. Don’t worry.’ That title track shaped the energy of the whole album.”
Of course, as Ashley deals with her own cancer battle that thankfully appears to be coming to an end soon as she heals and moves on from such a horrible disease, it hits even harder to hear these stellar musicians sing this song together.
It’s just so damn good to see Ashley looking amazing and singing just as beautifully as she always does:
“Thank you @lukasnelson for asking me to come join you on “A few stars apart” at @theryman. Such a magical song and such a magical night for me.”
Thank you @lukasnelson for asking me to come join you on “A few stars apart” at @theryman. Such a magical song and such a magical night for me. pic.twitter.com/8mMi70f7fD
— Ashley Monroe (@ashleymonroe) November 6, 2021
“A Few Stars Apart”
