\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div><\/div> \t\t\t\t\tAshley McBryde<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNathan Chapman<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tThankfully, tomorrow turned into four years of sobriety and a whole new outlook on life. But the memories remain. Even today, the bottle still calls her name sometimes although she\u2019s managed to fight off the demons and stay sober.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI\u2019ve negotiated with myself,\u201d she says. \u201cIf you\u2019re willing to trade being a member of the Grand Ole Opry, your Grammy, your accolades, every band member, every crew member, and the way your voice sounds, then drink the drink. No one\u2019s going to stop you from chugging the whole thing. Years after I\u2019ve stopped coming to you, bottle, you\u2019re still tapping me on the shoulder, saying I can fix it. But you\u2019re wrong, and f\u2013k you, I will not bend.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tInstead, she\u2019s leaned into her music and telling her life story through the lyrics. That storytelling translated into a series of 11 videos she filmed for each song on the album. \u201cIt was exhausting,\u201d she recalls. \u201cSome of the time we shot three songs in one day. But looking at the songs and trying to tell the story of who you\u2019re sitting across from and where she came from, I think it was fitting.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tOn the album, she tackles her difficult childhood relationship with her father on \u201cRattlesnake Preacher,\u201d a marriage devoid of emotion in \u201cLines in the Carpet,\u201d and the death of a high school friend and unrequited love in \u201cWhat if We Don\u2019t\u201d \u2014 not exactly the predictable drinking and cheating songs so prevalent in country music.<\/p>\n \n\tShe\u2019ll play these songs and others on her \u201cInto the Wild\u201d tour that kicks off in September for a 26-city run. McBryde, who\u2019s 42, says she actually loves touring.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI\u2019m at an age in my life where I love being home, planting flowers, providing a safe place for wildlife to get food and water,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I am most alive when I\u2019m trapped in a bus with eight other people because there\u2019s nothing to distract you. Nutrition can sometimes be a challenge, but none of it matters, because what I\u2019m going to get at the end of the day is 90 minutes of: nothing can touch me, safety, security and creativity. If I\u2019m home too long, I actually get homesick for the highway.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWhen she\u2019s not on the road, she\u2019s often found in \u201cRedemption,\u201d the Nashville nonalcoholic bar she owns on the fifth floor of Eric Church<\/a>\u2019s Chief\u2019s. In typical McBryde live-and-let-live fashion<\/a>, she says Redemption has alcohol for sale, but customers have to specifically request it.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tAshley McBryde in her Nashville nonalcoholic bar, Redemption.<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAubrey Wise<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\t\u201cYou can ask my bartenders for alcohol, and they will happily serve it to you,\u201d she says. \u201cThey\u2019re not going to treat you asking for alcohol the way people treated me when I would ask for a nonalcohol drink. I\u2019m not saying this is a bar for sober people, but I made some space available for people who don\u2019t drink a lot or don\u2019t want to be slobbered on by a bunch of drunks.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWhen she\u2019s visiting Redemption or onstage, McBryde is most comfortable in T-shirts and jeans. She says earlier in her career, she went through a jumpsuit phase, but she was uncomfortable moving around in those, so she moved on.<\/p>\n \n\tShe often goes for sleeveless or low-cut pieces to show off her brightly colored tattoos. The body art pays tribute to some of the most special people and experiences in her life. For example, she\u2019s got one of an exploded TV on the back of her calf, a nod to the John Prine song, \u201cSpanish Pipedream.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tOn her feet are boots \u2014\u00a0always. She has partnered with Ariat in the past and together they designed some models she wore for red carpet appearances. Today, she opts for slightly higher heels \u2014 she\u2019s 5 feet, 3 inches tall \u2014 and \u201cswankier\u201d materials such as suede.<\/p>\n \n\tFor her \u201cWild\u201d media campaign and tour, she\u2019s wearing waxed jeans with studs, tank tops and a \u201cfresher, more natural face, more of my natural hair texture. \u201c<\/p>\n \n\tMcBryde has become known for the gray streak running down the left side of her hair. \u201cThat\u2019s the only part we don\u2019t color,\u201d she says, adding that she went gray at 24. Her hairstylist created permed extensions to match her natural curls that allow her to spend less time on her hair every day.<\/p>\n![\"Ashley](\"https:\/\/wwd.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-wwd-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
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