Eric Church ended his massive Gather Again tour this past weekend in New York City at the world famous Madison Square Garden.

Fans know that along with Eric, singer Joanna Cotten, has been a major part of Eric’s music and tour, so when Joanna was under the weather, you can’t just hand those duties off to anyone.

That’s why Eric called Ashley McBryde to fill in.

Back in 2017, Eric Church brought a relatively unknown Ashley McBryde out on stage with the introduction, “I mentioned I had a guest and there’s a young lady here who I have become a massive fan of, and you guys are gonna be a massive fan of her real soon. She’s just starting this journey of her career and she’s unquestionably my favorite artist out right now that’s not out yet, but she will be real soon. So I invited her to come out and just her and I are gonna do an acoustic song that she wrote… please make welcome Ashley McBryde.”

Ashley recalls her reaction when Eric called her about performing at MSG this past weekend, “When Eric asked, ‘Hey, can you come fill in?’ I said yes without even knowing how I’d get there. Talk about respect… any time Eric’s asked me to do something it has caused me to level up. I got to take a master class in entertaining while on stage.” 

Talking about Ashley Eric said, “When Joanna had to sit this one out, we immediately knew who to ask. Ashley is meant for arena stages, and she’ll be headlining her own show at MSG soon.”

McByrde added, “Stepping into Joanna Cotten’s boots… I don’t take it lightly,” 

Of course Eric knew Ashley was up to speed with his music as she also joined him on stage at the ACM Awards earlier this year.

Photo Credit: Anthony D’Angio

Congrats to Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde as they land in the number-1 spot on the Billboard country airplay chart with “Never Wanted To Be That Girl.”

After topping the country chart, Carly talks about her song with Ashley and the success its had, “Oh my gosh, I mean just thinking about how this song even came to be. I had an idea to have Ashley on a song and she was on board. And just to see what it’s done and the stories that we’ve heard, and to be two women to get a number one – it’s Ashley’s first, which I think is really awesome, and I’m so happy for her. And this is the kind of music that I want to write and I want to sing, and to see it do what it’s done at radio makes me really proud.”

Ashley is on a tour overseas right now, which makes her first trip to number-1 even more memorable, “First times only happen once. I’ll always remember I was in Leeds, England when I got the news. I’ll always love that Carly and I got to ride this rocket of a song together. I’ll always love that she, Shane and I trusted each other and ourselves to be brutally honest when we wrote it. It doesn’t get a whole lot better than that.”

Carly shares, “So many people have been where this song takes you … it’s so real and feels so raw.” 

Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde are at number-1 with “Never Wanted To Be That Girl.”

Photo Courtesy of Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde

This weekend Ashley McBryde is headed to Ireland and the UK for an 8-stop tour that is already nearly sold out.

After getting back from her European romp, Ashley will have a couple of weeks before she starts her opening spot on Dierks Bentley‘s Beers On Me tour.

Of course, by the time Ashley gets back from the UK and before she starts her run of shows on the Beers On Me tour, her song with Carly Pearce just might be a number-one hit.

“Never Wanted To Be That Girl” is sitting in the Top-10 at number-6 this week.

Photo Credit: Daniel Meigs