Country Next: Ashley Anne

Ashley Anne’s love for music has never had a clear starting point because it has always been part of who she is. Raised in a family where creativity ran deep, she was surrounded by music from an early age, from her grandmother’s gift for storytelling through songwriting to her grandfather’s love for classic country music and the Grand Ole Opry.

What started as a passion for entertaining and playing small local gigs eventually grew into the realization that music wasn’t just a passion. It was the path she was meant to pursue.

Now, at 22, the Virginia Beach native and Nashville-based artist is stepping into a new chapter with her just released EP Generational Heartbreak. Across the project, Ashley Anne showcases her wide range of influences, from The Beach Boys to ABBA, and Dolly Parton. She pairs these elements with emotionally honest, story-driven lyrics that reflect her real-life experiences and what she describes as her “relationship with relationships.”

She’s been steadily building momentum, earning support from artists like Carly Pearce and Ella Langley, and turning heads with her single “Paloma,” a clever track inspired by a real-life night out with fellow country star Laci Kaye Booth. With the EP out now and a songwriting cut on Pearce’s upcoming album, Ashley Anne is continuing to carve out her place as one of Nashville’s rising voices.

Keep reading the exclusive Q&A to learn more about how those early influences and personal experiences have all shaped Ashley Anne’s artistry today, her connection with Carly Pearce, and more.

When did your love for music really start to develop?

My grandmother was always a singer and she’s got a beautiful voice. And then as her career, she was a writer. So I think I get a lot of that from her. And then my grandfather was in an orchestra and he played the piano. And then my grandpa on my other side lived in Nashville in his 20s and he would go see Pearl at the Opry and he is just obsessed with all things Old Country western. He’s by no means a musician, but he just loves country music and he called me Dolly. That was my nickname. So I think I’ve always had that kind of old country vibe from him and then the writer and the singer from my Mimi. And so I think that was always there. But as far as my parents, not musical at all. My sisters and I grew up loving to perform. We’d put on shows for people who’d come over. My dad built us a stage when we were little in our living room. It was like a little wooden platform and we’d pretend it was a stadium walkway but yeah, I always grew up, I wanted to be a performer. I was always wanting to entertain people. And so me and my older sister would just do that all the time. I can’t remember a time where I wasn’t singing or dancing or acting. When I was in high school, I was like, “I could actually do this as a career.” And I spent all of middle and high school doing gigs around my hometown at local seafood joints and playing full band shows on these tiny little stages with a high school band.

It sounds like music was kind of always the path that you were going to take. 

I’m the stubborn middle child and I think in the back of my head I always knew it was what I was going to do. But also growing up in a beach town where there’s a lot of money and everybody goes on to be lawyers and doctors and all that jazz, I think that there was a part of me that felt like that was what I had to do. But when I was a senior in high school, my grandfather, he was an orthopedic surgeon and he kind of worked his butt off and came from nothing and created a beautiful life for his family. And he’s just such a hard worker. And I remember always being terrified of telling him that that was what I wanted to do as a career. When I told him my senior year of high school that I was going to go to Nashville, he was my biggest champion around the decision. And I think that’s when I was like, “Okay, if he is on board with this, then this is what I’m going to do.” And I think that that meant a lot coming from him because he’s somebody I respect so much and I’m so close with him.

You had a lot of different musical influences growing up. How would you describe your sound today?

So I grew up listening to Toby Keith, Kenny Chesney, Jake Owen, Zac Brown Band, that side of country music was huge. And I think that that feeling that you get when you listen to that type of music is what I want to capture, but I never really related necessarily to the lyricism. And in those songs, just as far as what I want to say doesn’t necessarily fit with that kind of lane. And I think that my grandfather raising me on all this old country western music, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, I think that the storytelling in country music mixed with sonically the beachy kind of coastal vibe, and then you kind of throw on top of that Abba and the Beach Boys and kind of those classic bands…I am aware of the fact that my music is not the easiest to digest all the time as far as lyrics go because I am trying to say something a little more, maybe harder to grasp intellectually. But I do think that as long as sonically it feels uplifting and warm and like a hug, I feel like the mix of those two things has kind of been the sweet spot for me.

What messages were you hoping to convey when putting together your new EP Generational Heartbreak?

I’ve always just been kind of somebody who writes the season that I’m in and I write a lot about past seasons, but I feel like everything’s always been pretty cohesive as far as putting things together on a project because all the songs that I write are genuinely stories that I’ve lived or experienced. And these songs all started to kind of come together and it was pretty easy to package them onto a project as far as figuring out what tied them together. I think a lot of the songs have so much to do with my relationship with relationships, is what I like to say. With “Phone a Friend,” you have the friendship aspect and with “Paloma” and “Nevermind” and “Found You Broken,” you have the relationship, significant other aspect. And I think that all of those songs are very good at portraying kind of the way that my brain works when I’m stepping into those situations and the early stages of those relationships and friendships and the insecurities and the doubt, but also the silver lining. And I think that’s always important that I include that in my music too.

How did you land on the title “Generational Heartbreak”?

So as far as calling it Generational Heartbreak, I love that line, in “Love Looks Like,” is it too soon to say that I broke the chain of Generational Heartbreak?” And I feel like a lot of us ask that question all the time where it’s like, I’ve been through so much in my life and it’s shaped who I am as a person and how I experience my adult life. And I think a lot of my childhood experiences have totally poured into my adult life and you almost think that you won’t let it, but I’m aware of it, so therefore it won’t affect me and I’ll just leave it because I left my hometown and it’s in the past. But I’ve watched a lot of that creep back up. So Generational Heartbreak felt like the most fitting title for this project, for sure. 

Through the project you reflect a lot on how those past experiences spill over in your life today. Talk about what it was like tapping into those emotions?

Honestly, and I’m not saying this because I have an ego, I’m saying this because it really just does come naturally, but I’ve never had an issue tapping into that. And I think it’s because my relationship with songwriting started as a coping mechanism to literally get me through my childhood years. And writing songs was always something that I did when I was struggling to comprehend a certain situation and wrap my head around it and therefore get through it. And I think that I honestly struggled when I moved to Nashville because you start co-writing with other people and they’re like, “Oh, you need upbeat songs too,” or “you need happy songs too.” And I think that’s where I’ve kind of found the silver lining theme in my music now as I’ve been in Nashville for four years. I started writing when I was 11 years old and the songs and the poems, all of that all started just from a true, genuine, raw place where there wasn’t anybody else in the room that I was filtering these ideas through. Everything was thoroughly me, myself and I. And I think that because I started songwriting in that manner, I think that I’ve carried that into my now music and doing this as a professional career. I think all of that has stayed true and I’m really proud to hang on to that.

How has it felt to see fans connect with these songs that are so personal?

My friend Avery Anna told me two years ago, she said, “when you write a song in a room and you’re listening to the demo throughout the next few months or whatever, yeah, that’s your song, but the second you put it out into the world, it’s not yours anymore. It belongs to so many people and you have to kind of let that go and let it be whatever it is meant to be or what it wants to be. What the Audience wants it to be.” So I think that that has been really cool for me, especially on these shows and being on the road and watching how the music is performing in real life face-to-face and people coming up to the merch table and saying things like, “Gosh, couch surfing, that’s such a niche topic and experience to write about, let alone put out into the world.” And it’s like, I really thought I was the only one who experienced certain things that just aren’t written about enough, I don’t think. I’m never going to shy away from the super unique experiences because I think that we all, to a degree, experience those emotions. So it’s been really cool to see that translate. 

When you first moved to Nashville with that mindset, was it ever difficult to stay true to yourself while navigating outside opinions?

I kind of struggled a lot, but I think what kept me really grounded is I was really fortunate enough to find my writer clan early on. I mean, I think it was probably about six months to a year into Nashville when I found my best friends in my writer’s circle. And I think that always allowed me to keep that personal aspect of things and never kind of get too lost in the Nashville game. But it’s definitely something I still struggle with. And it’s a balance for sure because there is a game that we have to play as business women, but also the genuine artist that I want to be sometimes fights for the opposite of that. But I think having people in my corner who know me as a person before anything else and see me as a human being and know about my story and my upbringing, there’s no secrets, there’s nothing to hide. I think that has definitely helped me keep that part of myself. 

Another song track from the project that obviously is standing out is “Paloma.” How did Laci Kaye Booth inspire this story?

It was a little over a year ago now. I was at one of my best friend’s birthday dinner, Nicole Croteau. She’s actually also doing the artist thing right now, but she’s been a writer in town for, I think, 10 years now. And she’s like a big sister mentor to me, and it was her birthday dinner. We were all sitting around this table and I’d freshly turned 21…I hadn’t really figured out what my taste in mature adult drinks were. Everybody at the table was like, “Ashley, try this. Ashley, try this.” Everybody wanted me to try something different. And Laci Kaye Booth was sitting right next to me and she had ordered a Paloma. Part of the story that I haven’t told, which is really hilarious, was she actually, they go around the table, the waitress, to do all of our drinks and entrees at once because it was a big group. And the waitress gets to Laci and she goes, “Okay, can I get … ” And she orders her entree and she says, “And then can I get a Paloma, a shot of tequila and a thing of churros my dessert.” I was like, “I like this girl.” That’s my kind of girl.

So yeah, I literally was just kind of enamored by her. I love her music so much. And she was just such a friend and such a normal, fun, outgoing, loving person. And we had so much fun that night. And I wrote down in my phone later that night, “the girl with the Paloma” because I had tried her drink and I was like, “Ugh, this thing is so bitter. How do you even like that?” Since then I’ve had some good Palomas, but I will say that one was pretty grapefruit heavy. And I remember writing in my notes, “oh, to be her, to be the girl with the Paloma who’s so mature in late 20s, knows the ropes.” And yeah, it was kind of just all inspired by her. And even down to the outfit she was wearing that night, a really cute mini skirt. I loved her outfit. And I wrote that down, wrote the song a few weeks later and now she and I are friends and we go out and we had Palomas to celebrate the release night.

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You recently performed at the Song Suffragettes event honoring Carly Pearce and you have a cut on her upcoming album. Talk about how you landed that opportunity.

This has been the most surreal experiences of my career in my life, honestly, thus far. I’ve looked up to Carly all throughout my high school years. I was absolutely obsessed with her first few records and it was last January, so January of 2025, I was kind of in…the winter season and the industry is really hard because everything kind of dies down and it’s really hard as an artist to not get in your head and feel like you’re not doing enough. And I was kind of just in this season of feeling like I had been plateauing a little bit and it’s a total crazy story and I’ll try to dumb it down. But I called my manager at the time, Halie Hampton…I called her late at night crying and I was like, “Halie, I just don’t know what’s next. I’m terrified. I feel like I’m plateauing. I’ve been here two years now at this point.” And she was like, “Ashley, I believe in you so much, but it is not up to me to tell you what to do. ” She’s like, “You could be destined for something else. You could be destined for this.” She’s like, “That’s not up to me. You need to go pray about it.” And that’s exactly what I did. I literally spent the entire night on my knees like, “Lord, what am I supposed to do? Give me a sign, give me something.” And I got a text the next morning that Carly Pearce wanted, “Why God, Why Me,” that she had heard the song and that she wanted to put it on hold. And I was like, “That’s insane.” And as a songwriter, a hold is absolutely incredible. And that was my first hold ever.

How were you feeling in that moment, knowing Carly could cut one of your songs?

I was ecstatic, but the girls that I wrote the song with were like, “Oh, we get holds all the time and nothing happened.” So it was kind of like, okay, now we need to be praying about if this song’s meant for Carly Pearce, it will be Carly Pearce’s song. And that was kind of just that season. And it was crazy. It was about two weeks later I ran into her at 12 South in Nashville. I was walking my dog. I ran into her on the crosswalk and I literally yelled her name across the street and I was like, “Carly?” And she was like, “Yes.” And I was like, “I’m Ashley Anne. I wrote “’Why God Why Me.’ That’s my voice on that demo.” And oh my gosh, I mean, I just broke down in tears in front of people and I just broke down in tears and she gave me the biggest hug and she looked at me and said, “I hope you know what’s going on the next record.” 

I absolutely lost it in the middle of the crosswalk. She gave me her phone number and was like Like, “Text me, let’s get together.” Literally since then, I’ve just had the absolute honor of being close-knit with her and throughout the whole process of the song. And she sends me snippets. And it was around June, I texted her this video that I got in my “Four Year Ago Today” memories. And it was me watching her open for Rascal Flatts at my hometown theater. And I sent it to her and was like, “This is surreal and so full circle.” And she texted me back a video and was like, “look at what I’m in the studio cutting right now”…the whole experience has been extremely divine and I believe the Lord has had his hand on this whole song and my relationship with her and she’s just been so kind and such a mentor and I just could not say better things about her, honestly. 

Fans can follow Ashley Anne on Instagram.