Ashley Monroe Surprise Releases New Album Dear Nashville – Out Now
Co-Produced and Co-Written with Luke Laird, The 8-Song Concept Album Confronts Her 23 Year Long Love Affair with Nashville
Official Video For ‘I Hate Nashville’ Out Now
NASHVILLE, TN. / LONDON, U.K. – “If someone is hurting us, and we don’t let them know, isn’t that on us?,” Ashley Monroe wrote in a letter to her hometown of Nashville, TN last week. That is the central question surrounding her surprise-released new album Dear Nashville that was released on Friday (March 27th). The concept album was co-Produced by Luke Laird, with whom Monroe co-wrote each of the album’s eight tracks.
Watch the official video for ‘I Hate Nashville’
Ashley Monroe has spent nearly 25 years building a life and career in Nashville, writing songs, making records, and earning the respect of her peers. But even with all she’s accomplished, Monroe has often felt invisible in the very town she’s devoted her life to. On her surprise-released album Dear Nashville, she puts those conflicted feelings front and center.
“I had a writing session on the books with Luke and I’d woken up that morning with a storm in my heart, like, ‘My gosh, have I done this all for nothing?’” she says. “When I got to Luke’s house that day, I knew I had to address my hurt feelings and get it out of my system. I told him the idea of ‘I Hate Nashville’ and he loved it. That song put everything into motion. We felt the window of all the muses open, and decided that I’m going to say what I feel and make it a whole project.”
Those emotions come through immediately in ‘I Hate Nashville’, a title that masks her deep love for the genre. “Country music is the reason I’m alive,” she declares.
“This album started with Ashley bringing the title, ‘I Hate Nashville’, to the room one day,” Luke Laird explains. “The music is what brings most songwriters to this town – but when it comes to the business, that’s when people can get burned out. So Ashley and I talked that day about our love for country music, the songs and the people – we had such a good day talking about all of our favorite Nashville memories and what led us both here. I love how honest Ashley is in her writing and just how pure her singing is. She really is the triple threat: artist, songwriter, and producer. We had so much fun making this record. No rules… just what felt right.”
While Dear Nashville is a concept record about Monroe’s professional relationship with Nashville, it also doubles as a romantic record, one that probes the timeless topic of unrequited love. “The bottom line of the album,” Monroe says, “is I wish you loved me like I love you.”
Dear Nashville tracklist:
1) I Hate Nashville (Luke Laird/Ashley Monroe)
2) Gettin’ Out Of Hand (Luke Laird/Ashley Monroe)
3) What Are We? (Luke Laird/Ashley Monroe)
4) Steal (Luke Laird/Ashley Monroe)
5) Haunted (Luke Laird/Ashley Monroe)
6) Dreaming (Luke Laird/Ashley Monroe)
7) Having It Bad (Luke Laird/Ashley Monroe)
8) Quittin’ (Luke Laird/Ashley Monroe)
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(Credit: Becky Fluke)
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