NASHVILLE, Tenn. ā Country singer-songwriter Ashley McBryde had a whole cast of colorful characters that lived in her songs, and her friends' songs, too, and now she has a town to let them flourish.
The award-winning singer from Arkansas and a posse of her songwriting buddies created Lindeville (LIN'-dee-vill), a nod to the late songwriter Dennis Linde, who wrote quirky character-driven songs like āGoodbye Earl.ā
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āAshley McBryde Presents: Lindeville,ā out now, is a collaborative concept album that McBryde and her friends created to give a home to the small-town misfits and their sometimes intoxicated and half-naked escapades. In McBrydeās fictional town, thereās the Dandelion Diner, the Forkem Family Funeral Home, the Dennis Linde ballfield, Ronnieās Pawnshop and of course, a Food City. And thereās songs about Pete, the Vietnam vet who takes care of the ballfield; Patti, who works at the strip club where they host a gospel night; and Tina, who caught her man, Marvin, cheating and is beating up that gal that works at Sun Tan City.
āItās a fictional town, but itās also every small town youāve ever been to,ā said McBryde. āWe have this really cool livestock trailer full of really interesting characters.ā
Her co-writers on the concept album include Aaron Raitiere, Connie Harrington, Brandy Clark, Benjy Davis and Nicolette Hayford, and features guest singers Brothers Osborne, Caylee Hammack and Pillbox Patti.
With nods to radio plays like āA Prairie Home Companion,ā McBryde and crew created detail-rich storylines with a John Prine level of empathy and compassion. There are mysteries that leave listeners wondering, backstories that give people depth and redemption and killer one-liners that are both explicit and hilarious. The tattooed singer has earned a reputation as a creative risk-taker in country music and on āLindeville,ā she encouraged everyone on the project to take the songs wherever they needed to go, even if it was dark or different or not a fit for radio.
āThereās definitely a different level of freedom and a little bit of carefreeness because, No. 1, itās a collab thing. Itās a community-driven thing where it requires multiple voices and multiple brains,ā said McBryde. āBut also, we werenāt planning on working it to radio, which frees up a whole lot more, especially language-wise. Because sometimes, I mean, you have to use profane language to get the point across. And if thatās where the truth is, then thatās where it needs to be.ā
John Osborne, of the duo Brothers Osborne, produced the album, which includes commercial jingles that McBryde sings for the various businesses in Lindeville. āWhen you meet your maker, we'll be your undertaker,ā McBryde sings about the town funeral home.
McBryde, who is has five nominations at this year's CMA Awards, says she felt inspired by the character-study concept albums that Bobby Bare and Shel Silverstein made in the ā70s that became classics. āHaving love projects like this, they donāt happen very often in country music,ā McBryde said. āAnd so even though itās not a big part of our country tradition, itās a rare part. Itās one that Iām awful proud to keep the torch lit on.ā
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Online: https://www.ashleymcbryde.com
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Follow Kristin M. Hall at https://twitter.com/kmhall