Ashley McBryde Performs Cover Of ‘Jolene’ in 2014

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Remember the name Ashley McBryde. In a time when women are struggling to be heard in Nashville, McBryde is taking the industry by storm.

An Arkansas native, McBryde earned her keep in Nashville the old-fashioned way….by working a full-time job during the day and singing anywhere she could find an open mic at night. For more than a decade McBryde played and sang anywhere and everywhere she could. It eventually paid off.

McBryde burst onto the national music scene in 2017 after her single “A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega” caught the attention of country megastar Eric Church, making him an instant fan. What happened next changed McBryde’s life.

Eric Church asked her to join him for one night of his Holdin’ My Own Tour. Together the two performed McBryde’s song “Bible and a .44.” The result was a viral video that sent people scrambling to hear more from her and had music labels fighting over her.

Ashley eventually signed with Warner Nashville and released her first full-length album Girl Going Nowhere. McBryde had so much success coming off that album. She won New Female Vocalist of the Year at the ACM Awards, Breakthrough Video of the Year at the CMT Awards, and New Artist of the Year at the CMA Awards – all in 2019.

While Ashley McBryde’s original songs are raw and emotional and worth listening to over and over again, her cover of Dolly Parton‘s “Jolene” left us speechless. Recorded at what appears to be an open mic event years before the world knew who Ashley McBryde was, the singer accompanies herself on guitar and slays the infamous Dolly song in a way that few people have ever done. Dare we say this is the best cover of “Jolene” that we’ve ever heard?

Listen for yourself in the video below and let us know what you think.