Ashley McBryde Dazzles During Pilgrimage Festival Performance

Ashley McBryde at Pilgrimage Festival 2023

Ashley McBryde at Pilgrimage Festival 2023

Ashley McBryde at Pilgrimage Festival 2023

Ashley McBryde at Pilgrimage Festival 2023

Ashley McBryde at Pilgrimage Festival 2023

As the sun began to set on day two of Pilgrimage Festival, Ashley McBryde, one of Nashville and country music’s best storytellers, dug in and delivered a catalog spanning show that made for one of the weekend’s grandest performances.

Her new album, The Devil I Know, featured prominently in the affair from the get-go with a set opening 'Made For This' along with renditions of the heartfelt and reassuring 'Light On In The Kitchen' and rugged pick-me-up 'Coldest Beer In Town'.

Shaping the set equally as much were cuts from 2018’s breakout Girl Going Nowhere including led by her debut single with Warner Music Nashville, 'A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega'. Empowering love anthem 'American Scandal' and road warrior rager 'El Dorado' also made appearances.

However, it wasn’t just McBryde’s original and recorded material that the show pulled from. Offering a respite from the samplings of The Devil I Know and Girl Going Nowhere littering the setlist was an emphatic reimaging of Pam Tillis classic 'Maybe It Was Memphis' that narratively couldn’t have fallen into better hands then McBryde.

The artist went on to also tease currently unrecorded fan-favorite 'Rattlesnake Preacher' in addition to selections from 2020’s Never Will, like the sassy and matter of fact 'Shut Up Sheila' and the catchy and infidelity-ridden 'One Night Standards', the latter of which was the first song from the Arkansas-born artist to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

That being said, the one moment from the show that stood above all was twangy rocker 'Brenda Put Your Bra On', which spurred at least a couple inebriated festival-goers tossing their sweat-covered garments toward the stage. The comedic, curious and carefree ditty embodies all of the best parts of what makes McBryde’s storytelling second to none, making it no wonder that it’s as well received by fans at live shows as it is by critics in the press.

McBryde will remain on tour heavily through the end of the year and into 2024, with appearances at the Grand Ole Opry on Oct. 14 and Dec. 5, Texas’ iconic Floore’s Country Store on Oct. 20 and a UK tour kicking off in Southampton on Jan. 17.

For more from Pilgrimage Festival 2023, see below:

Ashley McBryde

Artist