Ashley McBryde and Carly Pearce Plan to Celebrate Their Grammy Like Little Girls [Interview]
After talking with Ashley McBryde, you feel like her win at the 2023 Grammys wasn't the culmination of years of hard work, but the start of a something even bigger.
That's not to downplay an award she won with Carly Pearce for "Never Wanted to Be That Girl," a chart-topping duet from Pearce's 29: Written In Stone album. There's just so much more in her windshield than there is in her rearview mirror.
The song won Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the Grammy Awards in February and since then she's sat down to write (or "make stuff up," as she's fond of saying) with one of country music's most exciting new hitmakers and collaborated with an out-of-genre icon she couldn't talk about.
Related: Dierks Bentley Had No Idea His Ashley McBryde Collaboration Meant So Much
If you listen to the end of her interview with Evan Paul on the Taste of Country, On Demand podcast, you might be able to figure it out.
So often an artist seems overwhelmed in the sleepless days and weeks following a dream achievement, but McBryde seems more comfortable and confident than ever. Video from the interview with Taste of Country (above) finds her relaxed as she spills details of a drunken night on Miranda Lambert's tour.
The "Light on in the Kitchen" singer's warmth comes through the screen when she begins to talk about her friendship with Jelly Roll. She's self-assured as she details what's to come.
But the image she paints of herself and Pearce celebrating her Grammy win is simply precious.
Taste of Country: Where is the Grammy? Have you gotten it yet?
Ashley McBryde: No, usually when you win something at an event it's like three or four months before that thing comes to you, because there's all sorts of engraving done and everything. I joke about my awards being in the guest bathroom so everyone has to look at them, because everyone has to at least wash their hands. Well, there's not enough room in the bathroom anymore, which is a cool place to be in.
Also, a Grammy gets its own place. My becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry trophy and my Grammy will get their own space. What I know for sure is — Carly and I agreed to it the night we won — that when our Grammys come in we're going to have a tea party, just like little girls. We're going to set them and our awards from "Never Wanted to Be That Girl" around and we're going to drink tea, or whatever it is, from a tea cup and just have a tea party.
Tell me about the Grammy tattoo you're getting.
I'm gonna get a couple of them done. But the Grammy tattoo ... what I don't know is exactly where, but I've been sending Nancy Miller some references because there are a lot of beautiful gramophones, fully-colored tattooed stuff. And there's also some really cool all black and white and gray gramophone tattoos that I've seen, too.
I would prefer that it be on my arms and nice and visible. She'll decide color or no color and where it's going to be.
You're doing a lot with Jelly Roll this year. Why not get a face tattoo?
I was just talking to a friend about that. Jelly ... it's just part of him, and it's so natural it would be weird to me if he didn't have tattoos on his face. I feel like if I had a face tattoo, we might look at it and go, "She made a mistake." (Laughs)
How far would we have to walk into your house to know we are in Ashley McBryde's house?
Oh man, when you come through my front door, the three posters from our first three sold-out nights at the Ryman are hanging as soon as you walk in. It was me and Lainey (Wilson), me and Caylee (Hammack), and me and Caitlyn Smith. That's something I'm still really proud of and I like to remind myself as I'm leaving my front door how cool this life is.
Also, there would be an 80-pound golden retriever in your arms as soon as you walk in the door. You would know you were in my house.
Do you think you might record a song with Jelly Roll?
I hope we end up on a song. We've been making stuff up together, so we'll see how that goes. My neighbor in my little neighborhood is also a musician and he had texted me one day and said, "Hey, do you know this guy Jelly Roll?" It felt like he was being like, "Hang on, he's a rapper, but you're gonna like him." I was like, "No, I love new music to listen to."
So, Apple Music. I got on there and I heard (sings) "Somebody save me" and I was like, excuse me ... Then my friend Pillbox Patti does a tour with him.
I went over to his place the other day to sing some stuff and make up things together and when we finally embraced — to really have a hug and sit down and talk, we both felt like we had already been friends for a long time, and now we get to act on it.
Your name came up when I was interviewing Elle King. She shares a story about the Miranda Lambert tour when she was too drunk to perform "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" but did it anyway and was told it was the best she ever sounded. And then she ran into a wall.
That is exactly how it went down. I'm standing there with Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe and we're like, "Where's Elle?" I see her kind of coming through and her tour manager is putting the chord down the back of her shirt for the ears and she's like, "Oh man, I fell asleep and my voice is all weird." I'm like, "It's OK, me and Ashley Monroe were just discussing, we'd trade off. If your voice is really gone we'll sing the part. Nobody will notice."
When she gets up, she walks up the stairs and says, "Sing my parts" and then (sings) amazing. Completely brings the whole place down and 100 percent walks off the stage into a wall.
I also asked Elle who she'd want in her corner for a bar fight and she said you.
(laughs) I can believe that, because she knows I don't have to win. I just wanna fight.
What's next for you?
We've got a really big tour in the fall to support the new record. Right now I've been writing my tail end off and that makes me so happy. People are like "Are you writing for a new record?" and I'm like, "Honey, I'm always writing for a new record and not always my new record."
Like I said, I was over at Jelly's and we were able to make some stuff up so I'm hoping to see something really cool out of that, too.
Is it going to be an EP or a full length from you next?
Full length. There's 11 tracks on this.