NASHVILLE, Tenn. — If things ever go sideways in her career as a country singer, Ashley McBryde has a solid backup plan in place: a reality series starring her and Martina McBride, the veteran country star so frequently mistaken as a relative that McBryde owns a website — isashleymcbryderelatedtomartinamcbride.com — whose only purpose is to serve up Merriam-Webster's definition of "no."
The show would be called "McBridesmaids," its premise simple yet rich with potential. "We'd just go around and crash people's weddings," McBryde says with a chesty laugh. "Then at the end of each episode, the two of us would join the wedding band and jam."
You can already envision the high jinks. Alas, given the roll McBryde's been on, "McBridesmaids" is unlikely to reach Bravo anytime soon. One of Nashville's most emotionally incisive songwriters — with a voice that can channel pain as vividly as defiance — McBryde, 39, performed this fall as a special guest on the Judds' tour commemorating the life of Naomi Judd, who died in April. McBryde's acclaimed new album, "Lindeville," is expected to earn a Grammy nomination or two. And she's up for five prizes at Wednesday night's Country Music Association Awards, including female vocalist of the year and song of the year with "Never Wanted to Be That Girl," her chart-topping duet with Carly Pearce.
