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Ashley McBryde Celebrates Three Years Of Sobriety By Connecting With Nature: “The Kind Of Party I Needed”
Ashley McBryde continues to be a light to those on their own sobriety journey.
Over the last three years, Ashley McBryde has been one of many artists who reevaluated their relationship with alcohol. And she’s not alone… in the last few years, there have been many artists who have changed their drinking habits, either cutting out entirely or limiting the amount they drink before hitting the stage. These artists include Marcus King, Jon Pardi, Ernest, Hardy, Cody Jinks, Tyler Childers, and the list can go on.
While a sobriety journey can look different for everyone, maybe you’re “California sober” or handle it privately, Ashley McBryde has been one artist who has shared much of her journey. As she celebrates three years, she continues to be a light and support others considering going sober or needing support.
IMcBryde shared with her fans on her third anniversary of choosing herself that she reconnected with nature that day, spending time on the beautiful earth. This was a very fitting outing, given that her anniversary fell a day after National Outdoors Day.
“Today marks 3 years. Since my last drink. My last time being ‘that guy’ in my social and professional circles. The last panicked phone call for help. The final slip up that caused the intervention from those that love me and the shift in me allowing me to say “that’s enough”.
The details are known by those who are deserving of such painful information. Gratitude is the guiding light today. Grief is okay. A version of me had to die off so I could become myself. I have love for her and every other version of me that had to exist so I could stand by this waterfall today. Thank you for the ability to stand here. Celebrating by connecting to Mother Earth was just the kind of party I needed.
If you’re struggling , reach out. You aren’t alone and don’t have to be. You’re gonna be delighted at how many of us there are. I love you, keep going.”
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A post shared by Ashley McBryde (@ashleymcbryde)
McBryde first opened up to the public that she was sober a year into her journey. First speaking about it on Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen in 2023, McBryde got honest with herself about her relationship with alcohol when writing The Devil I Know. McBryde waited until a year in her journey to speak on it because she was worried that opening up about her struggles would jeopardize her progress and she was not willing to “screw it up.”
Since being sober, McBryde realized that her drinking was becoming very “detrimental” to her well-being, and her drinking kept her from fully feeling the emotions in her heart and mind.
“Turns out it was just really detrimental. And then when you’re finding out the reasons that you’re going so overboard all the time was because of your inability to feel something that your brain was like, I can’t do it. I can’t do it. I’m like, well, that’s weak. I’m not going to accept that. I’d rather just hurt. This morning, I was at the boxing gym working out with my coach.
We were doing something that was hard, and he said, ‘Are you okay? Do you need a break?’ And I said, ‘I know how to hurt.’ I do now. I mean, I knew how to hurt before and add extra to it for no reason.”
Just like many artists who cope with unhealthy vices, McBryde worried that she felt like her songwriting or stage presence might decline after giving up alcohol, but that was not the case at all. In fact, she felt like she was more present than ever and could dig deeper, sharing truly vulnerable thoughts. One of those thoughts appears on her tune “Blackout Betty.”
The song, penned with Aaron Raitiere and Nicolette Hayford, features lyrics as McBryde reflects on her relationship with alcohol, realizing that she no longer had control of her consumption and was spiraling out of control.
The song is almost a reflection of herself in that moment, feeling like a “real piece of sh*t.”
“There’s even a line in Blackout Betty that says, ‘Why can’t I have just one glass of wine? Hey, I’m a real piece of sh*t sometimes.’ And at the time, I was. Pretty often.
But you’ll hear it in context and you’ll be like, yeah, it’s kind of said in a jabbing you in the ribs kind of way…
And I know that my therapist would be like, ‘We’re not going to say that I’m a piece of sh*t sometimes. We can say I’m messy, we can say I’m complicated.’ But at the time, it was absolute truth. I mean, I wrote the song hungover.”
Listening to the song after learning this puts some weight on the lyrics and makes you see it in a new light.
Like many of McBryde’s other sobriety milestones, her third anniversary was marked by comments from her country music peers celebrating her accomplishment.
Here’s to Ashley McBryde being vulnerable with her fans and showcasing that it’s okay to admit that you need to make a change. Ashley McBryde’s authenticity is one of the many reasons she’s one of the most bada** women in country music.
Every milestone is worth celebrating, and we are cheering for her during each one.The post Ashley McBryde Celebrates Three Years Of Sobriety By Connecting With Nature: “The Kind Of Party I Needed” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.
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