Ashley Cooke

There’s something refreshingly laid-back and casual about Ashley Cooke’s distinctive, country-pop sound. However, don’t let her easygoing, off-hand lyricism distract you from the adept storytelling and intricate melodies that underpin some of Cooke’s most streamed songs to date, from her heartwarming 2022 Brett Young duet, ‘Never Til Now’, to her 2023 post-break-up anthem, ‘your place’.

The endearingly relaxed air that follows Ashley Cooke around extends to her initial foray into country music. Having written her first song at 11, Cooke made the traditional artist’s pilgrimage to Music City at the age of 18 - only, at this point, she didn’t yet consider herself a country singer-songwriter.

Cooke majored in Communications and Marketing at Nashville’s illustrious Belmont University, which has produced country stars such as Florida Georgia Line, Brad Paisley and Trisha Yearwood. Despite not studying music, Ashley Cooke entered Belmont’s renowned Country Showcase - and won.

This served as the catalyst for the Floridian’s decision to give her burgeoning country music career a chance for one year. This happened to be the year the world shut down for the pandemic, which stifled the careers of many up-and-coming artists.

Yet Ashley Cooke instead saw this as an opportunity to grow her fanbase in a different way, through inventively and effectively utilising TikTok as a means of placing her music in front of new listeners.

Following the viral success of the revamped ‘Never Til Now’, with newly added vocals from Brett Young, Ashley Cooke released her debut EP, Already Drank That Beer, in 2022. The project included an array of stellar offerings which zeroed in on Cooke’s conversational, ultra-modern style.

Ashley Cooke will release her hotly anticipated debut double-album, shot in the dark, under Big Loud Records and Back Blocks Music, on July 21 2023, featuring fan-favourites such as ‘enough to leave’, ‘it's been a year’ and the Colbie Caillat-assisted ‘mean girl’.