Nashville isn’t for the faint of heart. Every day, aspiring musicians, artists and songwriters pack up and leave their hometowns to come to Music City from all across the country and chase their dreams. Some of them will make it and become household names. Some of them will make a good living but never reach the level of superstardom where everybody knows their name. And unfortunately, there are plenty who pack up and go home with nothing but a beat up guitar and the scars that Nashville has left on so many aspiring artists before them. It’s a brutal business. And Ashley Monroe is letting everybody know about it. I think every artist has probably had that moment where they’ve felt like giving up. It’s often said that Nashville is a “ten year town,” meaning it takes most people 10 years to truly “make it” in the music business after moving to Music City (which is why I rolled my eyes recently when I heard a current artist say they thought about moving home after six months). But for Ashley Monroe, she’s nearly 25 years into this 10 year town and still finds herself let down and overlooked by the industry and the city to which she’s dedicated her life. If you’re (somehow) not familiar with Ashley, she’s one third of the Pistol Annies along with Miranda Lambert and Angaleena Presley, and has scored a couple of charting singles as a solo artist with songs like “I Don’t Want To” featuring Ronnie Dunn, “Weed Instead of Roses,” from her stellar debut album Like A Rose, and “Hands On You” from her 2018 project Sparrow. She’s also made a name for herself in Nashville, not only for her incredible voice but as a badass songwriter who’s written hits like “The Truth” for Jason Aldean and “Heart Like Mine” by Miranda Lambert. Yet despite her success, Monroe shared in a vulnerable post this week that she still feels beaten down by trying to get noticed in a city where everybody shares that same goal: “For as long as I can remember, I dreamed of coming to Nashville to live out my dream. A couple years after daddy died, me and mama left Knoxville and headed west… with a fire and an unwavering faith inside my broken little heart that would not let up. Over the past 23 years, I have met some of the cornerstones of my life in this town (one being Sir Vince). I have been signed and dropped by several labels, written and released 4 albums with Pistol Annies, co-written two songs that were number 1 on country radio, nominated for 3 Grammys, released 6 solo albums, and have watched a lot of my dreams come true. I make music because I love it with every fiber of my being. I believe God gave this gift to me, and with it I want to create art that helps heal the places words alone cannot reach. I am forever thankful to everyone who has supported me and unconditionally loved me on this journey. Yet, I have also felt underestimated, let down, and taken for granted. Last fall after attending an industry event, it hit me so hard it took my breath away…“they’re never gonna see me…” In that moment, I finally let myself feel how sad that makes me. Nothing has inspired me more, or hurt me more than this place. I feel like I’ve earned the right to say that. Yet, every morning there’s this hope of a miracle on that Batman horizon that I’m unable to shake. After years of trying to focus on the bright side and pretending this town doesn’t break my heart, I figured why not let em know… what do I have to lose? If someone is hurting us, and we don’t let them know, isn’t that on us?” Well today, she let Nashville know just how much it’s hurting her, with a surprise concept EP Dear Nashville. In the leadoff track, “I Hate Nashville,” Ashley laments all that she’s given to Nashville while feeling like the relationship is one-sided: “I hate Nashville Cause I’ve tried and tried and tried You give and break And it just takes The best years of your life Country music Is the reason I’m alive Paul Franklin playin’ steel God knows I love Vince Gill But I hate Nashville I hate Nashville” It’s a sentiment that’s been expressed in plenty of songs over the years, from Caitlyn Smith’s “This Town Is Killing Me” to Hailey Whitters’ “Ten Year Town.” And it’s a theme that continues throughout the album as Ashley struggles with the feeling of unrequited love on songs like “What Are We” and “Quittin’.” “So much for quittin’ So much for me giving up I can’t get enough I tried like hell to put it down But I don’t know how So much for last times I know there’s always one more Why would I close the door? What if the high I’ve been chasing Is out there waitin'” The entire album was written by Ashley along with country hitmaker Luke Laird, who said it started when the singer came into a writing session with a song title: “This album started with Ashley bringing the title, “I Hate Nashville,” to the room one day. The music is what brings most songwriters to this town – but when it comes to the business, that’s when people can get burned out. So Ashley and I talked that day about our love for country music, the songs and the people – we had such a good day talking about all of our favorite Nashville memories and what led us both here. I love how honest Ashley is in her writing and just how pure her singing is. She really is the triple threat: artist, songwriter, and producer. We had so much fun making this record. No rules… just what felt right.” And according to Ashley, it was inspired by the questions she had in her own mind about her life and career in Nashville: “I had a writing session on the books with Luke and I’d woken up that morning with a storm in my heart, like, ‘My gosh, have I done this all for nothing?’ When I got to Luke’s house that day, I knew I had to address my hurt feelings and get it out of my system. I told him the idea of ‘I Hate Nashville’ and he loved it. That song put everything into motion. We felt the window of all the muses open, and decided that I’m going to say what I feel and make it a whole project.” The whole thing is an incredible, soul-baring look at the dark side of the music business, the side that makes you question whether it was worth it and whether you’re ever going to get to where you want to go – even for an artist and songwriter as brilliant as Ashley Monroe. The post Ashley Monroe Drops A Beautifully Vulnerable Reflection On Life In The Music Business With New EP ‘Dear Nashville’ first appeared on Whiskey Riff.