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Ashley McBryde Shares Stellar Green Room Acoustic Take Of “Ain’t Enough Cowboy Songs”
Ashley McBryde is giving fans an unplugged and uncut take of her latest single.
Ashley McBryde is keeping the spirit of the West alive with her latest single, "Ain't Enough Cowboy Songs," which she released at the end of 2024. “Ain’t Enough Cowboy Songs” was the first we’ve heard from her since she put out her The Devil I Know album in 2023, and you can tell off the first listen of this single that McBryde was waiting for the perfect track to release after her last project. "Ain't Enough Cowboy Songs" was that song.
Written by Ashley, Chris Harris, and Patrick Savage, the song is a love letter to the cowboy way of life and the values surrounding this culture - integrity, authenticity, honesty, and hard work. McBryde noted that she feels these values are dying and wanted the lyrics to represent that feeling.
“This one was all about where we live and the genre we love and realizing that the horse I rode in on got put out to pasture. Instead of us saying, ‘Work ethic’s out the window, stick-to-it code’s pretty much dead and idealism is gone,’ it was easier to say that by saying there is no wild out West. That’s all gone.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/DDOXRBdxvWA/
While the lyrics outwardly represent the Western and ranching way of life, when you examine them a little more, they also represent the changes McBryde has seen during her time in the music industry. When she first moved to Nashville, she played bar after bar. When she wasn't playing bars, she got into writers' rounds and shook hands with everyone who supported her.
“The horse I rode in on was, go play bars everywhere you can. Get to town play every bar you can while still playing the other bars you were playing. Build an audience, build an audience, build an audience, give yourself some value. Because this was all pre-social media, really, it’s how we exist, but it’s not how we function…
You get to town, you go to every writer’s night you can, you network, and you start make yourself known by word of mouth. You make your fans and followers by a handshake or sitting down and having a beer…That’s the horse I rode in on, and she’s got put to pasture. That way of life, I’m so thankful for it.”
While some artists still value coming up that way, the culture of the music industry has shifted to viral videos, social media promotion, and less about the connection you make with fans. During an interview on Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen, McBryde made it known that although she acknowledges the industry is changing, that doesn't mean it's bad. But she wants "Ain't Enough Cowboy Songs" to capture the feeling that if they move too far away from tradition and "touchstones," then country music is in trouble.
“If we lose the touchstone, the songs that made you want to write songs. We are in trouble. … We are all just the sum of every song that we’ve ever heard and every movie that we’ve ever seen. I’m so happy for the things that created me. And then when I look at who’s coming up and who’s coming to town, and I listen to the songs that are responsible for shaping them… I’m not saying they are bad songs; I’m saying they are farther from their own touchstone.”
McBryde is living the words she sings in the single, highlighting a cowboy tradition of campfire sessions (but on the road) with her latest take on the song. McBryde and her band gathered in a green room to film an unplugged and uncut version of "Ain't Enough Cowboy Songs."
And while it would genuinely embody the cowboy way of life if there were a fire around them, this green room set up also shows the kind of horse that McBryde rode in on- making do with what you have.
This intimate session highlights McBryde's unbridled talent and showcases the lyrics in a new light. I have watched and listened to this video an embarrassing amount of times, but it's that good.
Ashley McBryde does not miss, and this raw session highlights why she's one of the most bada** women in country music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu06ZuwAZeA