Some singers can do more than just be loud. They can make a whole room freeze. Ashley McBryde has that kind of voice. She sang Simple Man live with Jelly Roll. She did not just say the words. She made them feel real with pure honesty and soul. What began as a song to honor someone became something much closer. It became a moment that felt private for every single person who heard it.
The connection between McBryde and Jelly Roll was amazing. But her voice was the thing that truly made the audience hold their breath. They sang parts of the song back and forth. Her sound cut through the hot night air like something smooth and sharp. It was full of soul and real feeling and completely steady. She did not try to be bigger than the music. She let the song live. She let each word hit with a soft and heavy truth.The way she sang be something you love and understand felt less like a lyric and more like an advice she was giving straight to your chest.
Jelly Roll & Ashley McBryde – “Simple Man” (Live in Maryland Heights, MO) 8-19-23
Fans felt that too you could see it in the stillness of the audience, in the way everyone leaned in. The comments from that night say it all: chills, goosebumps, one of the best versions of this song I’ve ever heard. It’s one thing to sing a classic, It’s another to make people forget it wasn’t yours to begin with. That’s the kind of respect Ashley commands not through flash but through authenticity.
That same emotional thread runs through her solo performance of Maybe It Was Memphis during CMT’s Summer Sessions. While Simple Man was stripped back and smoky, Memphis let her step into something softer a nostalgic, heart-aching love song, delivered with subtle strength. She doesn’t belt it she floats through it, pulling you along every lyric like a breeze through a willow tree.
Ashley McBryde Covers “Maybe It Was Memphis” | CMT Summer Sessions
The crowd was totally with her again. It did not matter if they loved her for years or were just hearing her now. They were caught. The way she sang the song did not try to change it into something new. It showed respect for the original. But she still made it sound like her own. The way she sang the words. The feeling she put into it. The way she made the big part of the song feel like a forgotten memory suddenly coming back. That right there is the real magic.That’s why fans call her one of the most underrated voices in the country right now.
Together, these two performances are a reminder that Ashley McBryde isn’t just here to sing songs she’s here to meanthem. It does not matter if she is singing with someone or by herself. She brings her entire heart onto the stage. And in a world that is so loud that kind of real truth hits you in a special way. If you do not follow her story yet you should start now. A voice like hers is rare. When you find one you really feel it. You can follow her online to stay close to her music.