Photo: Daniel Cavazos for IHeartRadio
Ashley McBryde took the stage with her rock-infused country anthems during the 2024 iHeartCountry Festival Presented by Capital One on Saturday night (May 4). The star-studded event returned to Moody Center in Austin, Texas. The iHeartCountry Festival quickly followed a moment McBryde said she nearly had to stop mid-performance.
The Arkansas-born Grand Ole Opry member launched her iHeartCountry Festival set with “Blackout Betty,” which appears on her 11-track project that released in September 2023, The Devil I Know. The album also included other songs McBryde performed on the Moody Center stage on Saturday night, including her heartfelt ballad “Light On In The Kitchen” and the electrifying title track. McBryde also performed her single “One Night Standards,” included on her 11-track album in April 2020, Never Will.
It was during another one of McBryde’s career hits, however, that she said she nearly stopped her performance.
McBryde caught up with iHeartCountry on the red carpet before taking the stage at the festival, where she reflected on a tour highlight on Friday night (May 3) at Billy Bob’s Texas, hailed the world’s largest honky tonk. McBryde said the energy of the crowd was unforgettable, and unlike any other time she took the legendary stage.
“Last night, we were at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth,” McBryde said. “And every time you play Billy Bob’s is, of course, very special. But there was something in the room last night. They screamed so loud during ‘Girl Goin’ Nowhere,’ [the title track of her 2018 studio album] I nearly had to stop the song. There was so much emotion in the room that I was just like, ‘this is what it’s supposed to be like. Every time.’”
Other artists in the lineup throughout the evening included Jason Aldean, Jelly Roll, Lady A, Riley Green, Old Dominion (with surprise special guest Ashley Cooke), Brothers Osborne, Walker Hayes and Keith Urban. It was all hosted again by iHeartRadio’s Bobby Bones. Watch some of the highlights from McBryde's performance here: