Ashley McBryde flipped through countless submissions. As part of Tractor Supply's Emerging Artists Program, a partnership forged by Lainey Wilson, the singer-songwriter was tasked with selecting a promising young talent to mentor.
She soon came across a song called "House Always Wins" by Hailey Verhaalen. McBryde was immediately taken by Verhaalen's velvety voice and honest lyrics.
"I don't know if it was the way she turned the hook or if it was more of the melody," she tells Wide Open Country. "Then watching her perform it live ... being a woman who actually plays her instrument, I really appreciate a songwriter who actually plays their instrument."
In their conversations, McBryde shared some tips and tricks of being an artist, particularly as you begin touring the country.
"I wanted to learn Hailey's story. She comes from a really hard-working family, and that was important for me to know so that I could give her the right set of information. She's not afraid to get her hands dirty," she says. "So I was able to get into the things that are pretty dirty about what we do."
"If it's festival and fair season, there are days where you're not gonna get a shower," she says. "Then, do not ever let your van or your bus run out of baby wipes, because once the bus smells like feet, it smells like feet — and that's just how it is. There are things that you're not gonna always think about, like dry shampoo, and multiple types of deodorant things that are gonna keep you comfortable on long travel. In times of long travel and being separated from your family, you don't necessarily feel the cleanest you've ever felt. It's trying to give yourself as much normalcy."
Naturally, McBryde also relayed some insight of a more spiritual and philosophical nature.
"There are gonna be times that you're gonna be in an earlier slot than you deserve," she says. "And you're in that earlier slot because you're a woman and that's just how it is. We can sit here and be butt hurt about it, or we can just put on a better show than everyone else. Whatever slot you've got, the stage is yours. Earn every half inch of the stage you ever stand on, and you'll never be sad about the slot. I don't care if there are five people or 50 people or 5,000, you put on the show for the people that show up, and they'll constantly show up for you."
Katie Kauss
Now on the road, McBryde manages to squeeze all 11 songs from her new album The Devil I Know into the setlist while keeping many of the "old reliables" in the mix. To come up with a good setlist, McBryde and her band plastered Post-It notes all over the bus wall.
"We wrote out every song that we knew for sure we wanted to stay in the set and every song from the new record. Then we started sticking them to the bus wall," she says, "and we put them kind of in groups like, 'Oh, I like how these two look together.' And that's how we build the show. So, it's completely collaborative. Then you're looking at these combinations of songs going, 'Oh, I think this is gonna feel really good to play.'"
Her favorite new song to play? Currently, "Coldest Beer in Town."
"I love everything about that song," she says. "I loved it when we wrote it, and where it is in the show, it just holds a really cool place."
The album, released in September, opens with "Made for This," a song dedicated to life on the road. It seemed appropriate, then, to ask about those things she keeps around her for comfort and a semblance of home.
"I have a rule just for my sanity to have multiple phone chargers and Bluetooth speaker chargers. We need to have extra of all of those because the last thing I want is while we're away from our families to not have the ability to connect with them. That would be the worst-case scenario for me," she says. "Candles. We keep yummy-smelling candles, and sometimes we don't even care what scent they are. We just go to Walgreens and grab candles. I burn Palo Santo. I just love the way that smells, and it kind of puts my brain in a good calm spot. I actually have different — this might be weird — I have different soaps and shampoos I use on the road as opposed to home. I've trained my brain that these are the smells that mean: head down, we're grinding, and we're here to do it."
Not only does McBryde practice healthy habits on the road but also in life in general.
"I'm the healthiest in that way than I've ever been in my whole life," she says. "Imagine my surprise when I found out how unhealthy I was in that department. I guess what we've all just called the work — lots of therapy, lots of studying and trying to figure out how to do things intentionally and on purpose."
"When I say, 'trust yourself' to my band and crew, I'm not quoting the song. The song is quoting something I learned in the last couple of years, and it really is something about the way you treat others when you learn how to treat yourself."
McBryde then recalls a time when a friend confronted her on one of her "really crappy" days.
"I was very down on myself. And he said, 'Well, just tell me some of the things that your brain is saying to you.' And I told him. I had a couple of other friends there with me, and he said, 'What would you do if someone walked in the door and said that to these two ladies right here.' And I said, 'I put a space in the dirt.' He said, 'OK, so why don't you cowboy up for yourself the way you cowboy up for others?'"
"That helped me because sometimes when we think you gotta love yourself, you think that you just have to wrap yourself in a blankie and give yourself a bottle and put yourself to bed," she continues. "And that's not always it. Sometimes, it's being a cowboy for yourself and just standing up for what's right and what you feel is your sense of justice and using that on yourself. It has been a really powerful tool."
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