LiVE REVIEW
Ashley Monroe BY
JACQUI SAHAGIAN
A
lternative country songstress Ashley Monroe, best known as one third of the Pistol Annies alongside her “sister” Miranda Lambert and Angaleena Presley, took the stage at Nashville’s 3rd and Lindsley on Thursday, June 5 to play songs from her critically acclaimed Like a Rose for an adoring hometown audience. Monroe is one of those country singers that doesn’t get much airplay not because she doesn’t have a pretty face, but because she refuses to censor herself in her songwriting; and she considers herself first and foremost a songwriter. Choosing the cheeky “Weed Instead of Roses”as the single from Like a Rose definitely wasn’t the way to gain the most airplay on conservative country radio and making a video that’s a total throwback to a 1960’s television performance wasn’t the best way to court CMT either, but Monroe does things her own way and her fans adore her for it. “I don’t know why that didn’t get put on the radio,”she said after playing the song, which she dedicated to her grandparents who
72
happened to be in attendance. But her fans knew all the words. Monroe is part of a key group of women in the country music industry working to change what women in the genre are allowed to say through writing whip-smart songs that have gained her and her contemporaries critical adoration. If it weren’t for the Pistol Annies joking about popping pills, it’s hard to imagine how newcomer Kacey Musgraves could have gotten away with most of the material on her Grammy-winning debut, Same Trailer, Different Park, which sounds like the title of a Kid Rock album but is full of well-crafted songs and smart lyrics exploring what causes people to get stuck in their small hometowns when they’d rather be anywhere else.
Monroe played songs from throughout her career, including several cuts from Like a Rose as well as ‘Unhappily Married’ from the Pistol Annies and the early solo track ‘Satisfied,’ for which she asked for some help from opening act Striking Matches’ Sarah Zimmerman. Between songs Monroe told stories about her close relationship with Miranda Lambert. The two are longtime friends that frequently write material together not only for the Pistol Annies, but each other’s solo albums as well, including the song ‘Heart Like Mine’ which Lambert made a hit but Monroe sprinkled into her set because she helped write it. She closed out her performance with an encore of Graham Parsons’ great ‘Hickory Wind.’
Like a Rose was released last spring to nearly unanimous critical praise for its traditional country sound, well-written songs, and Monroe’s unique voice. Monroe cowrote all nine songs on the album, taking complete creative control that paid off for her sophomore effort. The record was named one of the top albums of 2013 by a litany of publications.
Like a Rose proved that Monroe has the chops to make a great record outside the Pistol Annies. Whether or not she can make a popular one outside that group remains to be seen, but the bigger question is probably whether or not she cares to. Her loyal fan base and the music journalists that gave Like a Rose top marks probably won’t care if she never gets on CMT. NEWSOUNDMAGAZINE.COM