GRAMMY winner Ashley McBryde brought her critically acclaimed album, Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville, to life with back-to-back sold-out shows at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium on Feb. 15 and Feb. 16. The concert events, which were directed by John Peets and produced by Q Prime South, also livestreamed to Mandolin.
Joined by her collaborators and well as several special guests, including Caylee Hammack (Night One), Lainey Wilson (Night Two), Shelly Fairchild, Pillbox Patti , TJ Osborne, Connie Harrington, Aaron Raitiere, and Benjy Davis, McBryde took over the Mother Church for a theatrical experience that brought the fictional town of Lindeville to Music City.
John Osborne, Caylee Hammack, Ashley McBryde, Pillbox Patti and Shelly Fairchild; Photo by Katie Kauss
“In my heart, it would be at the Ryman, done in the style of a community theater,” McBryde shared. “To deliver those performances in that way I think would be really beautiful and a lot of fun.”
Backed by the Lindeville band, consisting of John Osborne (Bandleader), Chris Harris (Acoustic Guitar), Matt Helmkamp (Electric Guitar), Joe Andrews (Banjo/Keys), Caleb Hooper (Bass), Quinn Hill (Drums) and Preston Wait (Pedal Steel), McBryde and friends played the GRAMMY-nominated project from front to back on both nights.
Ashley McBryde performs “Dandelion Diner” with the backing Bluegrass band; Photo by Katie Kauss
Lindeville Live also included Storme Warren, who acted as the What The Fuzz Radio DJ and Audrey Byrd, the young girl who appears on the Lindeville album cover with an accordion. Chris Serino and Kelsey Kopecky also appeared during the show, acting as Pete and Jenny, respectively.
Another highlight of the Lindeville shows was when McBryde welcomed Drag Queens Vivica Steele, Justine Van de Blair, Britney Banks, Vidalia Anne Gentry, and Shelby Lá Banks to the stage. The drag queens’ appearance came just days after the Tennessee senate passed a controversial bill restricting where certain drag shows can take place. According to The Associated Press, lawmakers voted 26-6 in favor of the bill on February 9. The bill will now move to the house.
Britney Banks, Vivica Steele and Justine Van de Blair; Photo by Catherine Powell for Ryman Auditorium
On the second night, McBryde closed out Lindeville Live with a stunning, acoustic rendition of her breakout single, “Girl Goin’ Nowhere.”
NIGHT ONE SET LIST
“Brenda Put Your Bra On”
“Jesus Jenny”
“Dandelion Diner”
“The Girl In the Picture”
“If These Dogs Could Talk”
“Play Ball”
“Ronnie’s Pawnshop”
“The Missed Connection Section of the Lindeville Gazette”
“Gospel Night At The Strip Club”
“When Will I Be Loved”
“Forkem Family Funeral Home”
“Bonfire At Tina’s”
“Lindeville”
“Goodbye Earl” (The Chicks’ Cover)
NIGHT TWO SET LIST
“Brenda Put Your Bra On”
“Jesus Jenny”
“Dandelion Diner”
“The Girl In the Picture”
“If These Dogs Could Talk”
“Play Ball”
“Ronnie’s Pawnshop”
“The Missed Connection Section of the Lindeville Gazette”
“Gospel Night At The Strip Club”
“When Will I Be Loved”
“Forkem Family Funeral Home”
“Bonfire At Tina’s”
“I Saw The Light”
“Lindeville”
“Goodbye Earl”
“Girl Going Nowhere”
Cast and characters of Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville Live on Feb. 16, 2023. Back Row, L to R: Tim Sergent, Dan Hochhalter, Charlie Worsham, Ben Helson, Jerry Pentecost, Quinn Hill, Matt Helmkamp, Caleb Hooper, Chris Harris, Preston Wait. Front Row, L to R: Vidalia Anne Gentry, Britney Banks, Kelsey Kopecky, Joe Andrews, Connie Harrington, Aaron Raitiere, Benjy Davis, Lainey Wilson, Ashley McBryde, Audrey Byrd, Pillbox Patti, Shelly Fairchild, John Osborne, TJ Osborne, Storme Warren, Justine Van de Blair, Vivica Steele, Shelby Lá Banks; Photo by Katie Kauss
The Lindeville project was inspired by late Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame member Dennis Linde, who passed away at the age of 63 in 2006 from Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. Linde is the legendary songwriter, who wrote the stories of Mary Ann and Wanda of “Goodbye Earl,” Billy Bob and Charlene of “John Deere Green,” Bubba of “Bubba Shot the Jukebox,” and Earl of “Queen of my Double Wide Trailer.”
McBryde’s manager told her that Dennis Linde previously drew a map of a fictional small town and wrote songs about the characters whom he imagined lived there, as part of his creative process, which sparked the idea for Lindeville. “I’m like, this guy was a genius, an absolute genius,” McBryde previously shared.
“I didn’t know what else we would name [the project]. I had been here in Nashville for several years before I found out the same guy [Dennis Linde] had written all those songs,” McBryde previously explained of how Linde inspired the project, “It’s kind of the opposite of what we did — we realized we had the characters and then developed the town for them. But we wanted to make sure we paid tribute, and we thought we should name the town after him.”
Ashley McBryde; Photo by Catherine Powell for Ryman Auditorium
Since Linde was the inspiration behind the album, McBryde found it fitting to pay tribute to the late songwriter with a cover of “Goodbye Earl” during the show in addition to donating all the livestream proceeds to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation in his honor.
Produced by John Osborne, Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville serves as McBryde’s third studio album. The project was written in collaboration with a team of songwriters, including Aaron Raitiere, Connie Harrington, Brandy Clark, Benjy Davis and Nicolette Hayford.
The 13-track album takes fans into a fictional small town of drinkers, cheaters, sinners and Jesus believers called Lindeville and includes performances from McBryde, Raitiere, Clark, Davis, Brothers Osborne, Pillbox Patti, and Caylee Hammack.
To write the album together, McBryde and her collaborators gathered in a Tennessee cabin with a few bottles of tequila and wrote for 18 hours a day. Together, they outlined the fictional town and its characters who live there and created songs that painted the picture of life in Lindeville.
“I’d like to think that when you first get to town, you think to yourself, ‘What a cute little neighborhood,’” McBryde outlined. “And then the next thing you see is dishes flying across Main Street. And you’re like, ‘Okay! Good morning, Lindeville!’ And that’s when we find out that Tina’s friends are witnessing her catching Marvin cheating. So ‘Bonfire at Tina’s’ is about all of those women in that town going, ‘Look, we all hate each other, and we can go back to talking shit about each other, but right now, one of us is hurting, and that gives us permission to drink too much, smoke and set shit on fire,” McBryde continued.
“I secretly hope that multiple people get together to burn the things that have been holding them back (in a super safe way),” McBryde admitted. “But I hope that it becomes an anthem and an outlet, not just for women, but for anybody who’s like, ‘You know what? I’m so tired of struggling with my weight.’ And they go burn their scale. Yes. Do that!”
Following Lindeville Live, McBryde surprised fans with the announcement of a brand new single, “Light On In The Kitchen.” The much-anticipated new release will debut on Friday, Feb. 24.
In addition to headlining a run of dates this spring, McBryde is gearing up to join Eric Church for two dates of his The Outsiders Revival Tour this summer. She’s also set to hit the road with Jelly Roll on his just-announced Backroad Baptism Tour.
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