Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Ashley Monroe celebrated the release of her fourth album, Sparrow, with a special album release show at Brooklyn’s Rough Trade on April 24th.
The twelve song collection was produced by Dave Cobb and recorded at Nashville’s famed RCA Studio A. In a press release announcing the album Monroe said, “Country music is a wide genre, and that’s OK. I don’t even know what genre this record is, but I know it’s me.”
Ashley Monroe at Rough Trade NYC April 24, 2018 / Photo by Shawn St. Jean
Since this was an album release show, Monroe’s set was focused on the new songs from Sparrow. The album captures a wide range of emotions, from the heart-breaking Orphan to the sultry Hands on You. Incredibly, Monroe has only had one rehearsal with her band prior to the show – something no one would have picked up on had she not mentioned it.
Throughout the evening Monroe would share stories behind the songs. One in particular that stood out was She Wakes Me Up: “I lost a dog a couple years ago – she ran off,” Monroe explained, as the room filled with a collective ‘Awwwww’. “But I got a new dog, her name is Betty. She’s so sweet in the mornings, she’d come running in and lick my face, and I’d go ‘I love my Betty she’s the light of my world, she wakes me up with the sun in her eyes.’ And I thought, ooh, I like this song [laughing]. That’s where the song came from, it started about Betty. Then I was like, I know, I’ll write it to my unborn child who I’m certain is a girl. Wrong. So we went in to record it and Dave [Cobb] said, do you want to change it to ‘he’ since your baby’s a boy? I said, Nope,” as the crowd broke in to laughter. Here’s a clip of her performance of She Wakes Me Up:
Check out our exclusive pics from the show:
Ashley Monroe at Rough Trade NYC, April 24, 2018
For all of the latest news and updates on Ashley head over to ashleymonroe.com and follow her social media accounts: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube
Were you at Ashley’s show in Brooklyn, or have you seen her perform elsewhere? Tell us what you thought of her performance in the comments section below!
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