With three nominations from the Country Music Association, including her fourth consecutive nod for Female Vocalist of the Year and third-for-three Album of the Year nominations, GRAMMY winner and Grand Ole Opry member Ashley McBryde releases The Devil I Know via Warner Music Nashville, featuring 11 tracks all cowritten by the Arkansas native. Listen to the album HERE.
“We can’t wait for you to dig into these songs that found a home on The Devil I Know,” shares McBryde. “Every decision that went into it had to pass a gut check, and I’m proud to say this entire record does just that. Thanks for coming along with us on this journey – we’re so glad you’re here.”
Named as one of the most highly anticipated albums by both Los Angeles Times and Vulture, with the former calling her “one of Nashville’s most reliable and sophisticated songwriters,” The Devil I Know finds McBryde honing her calling card even further, as American Songwriter boasts, “Her lyrics can be heartrendingly tender one song, then unflinchingly biting the next.”
“More ruminative than crazed, the Saddle, Arkansas-born ragged rock/country songwriter delivers an exhale of acceptance that the chase is as much the reward as superstardom. Rather than raging against what’s not happening, she delivers a clear-eyed celebration of how alive being in the moment feels,” shares HITS, as Garden & Gun notes, “The Devil I Know…could—and should—catapult her from being one of Music City’s favorite songwriters to its newest arena headliner. The album’s songs are infectious and assured.”
Lead single “Light On In The Kitchen” continues to climb the charts in the top 25 while earning a nomination for CMA Music Video of the Year. Directed by Reid Long and captured in a single take, American Songwriter observes, “Ashley McBryde showcases her storytelling soul,” while Rolling Stone praises of the track, “it’s a delicate ballad that feels ready for radio and the Grand Ole Opry stage but comes with mountains of good advice,” landing on their all-genre “The Best Songs of 2023 So Far.”
Opening track “Made For This” contains “hard-edged truths about the brutality of the life of a touring musician,” shares Billboard, and “Learned To Lie” earned a spot on Rolling Stone’s “The 20 Best Country Songs of 2023 So Far,” noting “McBryde tracks the lineage of an inveterate liar with clinical precision…her sneakily brilliant writing will floor you by song’s end.”
Recognized by Vulture as one of “The Best Songs of 2023 (So Far),” title track “The Devil I Know” is “the latest reminder of how special a mainstream country star McBryde is,” and asserts “McBryde still hasn’t lost her edge, showing off the country-rock chops that, if this industry were fair, would lead her to play this song in arenas just like fellow mavericks Chris Stapleton and Eric Church.”
Written with Trick Savage and Lainey Wilson, “Cool Little Bars” is a “wonderful ode to the dirty little dives we love,” sums up MusicRow, praising, “As if her singing and the songwriting weren’t brilliant enough, this has the most marvelous, crunchy, rocking-acoustic track on God’s green earth.”
With two wins and 15 career nominations from the Country Music Association, McBryde is also up for Album of the Year for Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville, produced by John Osborne. A collaborative effort, the project features performances from Brothers Osborne, Brandy Clark, Aaron Raitiere, Pillbox Patti, Caylee Hammack and Benjy Davis and earned a title as one of the best albums of the year from NPR (the only country album), Rolling Stone (all-genre and Country), Billboard (all-genre and Country), Variety and Stereogum, among many more.
McBryde is currently on the road with headlining and festival stops, including a date at the Grand Ole Opry on September 23 followed by Pilgrimage Festival in Franklin, Tenn. on September 24, before embarking on The Devil I Know Tour Presented by Ariat in October. For a full list of dates and to purchase tickets, visit AshleyMcBryde.com.
