In celebration of her new album ‘Tennessee Lightning’ the gorgeous Ashley Monroe returned to play Glasgow, sharing the billing with her friend Fancy Hagood for the evening. With Scotland basking in the late summer sun the talented pairing brought a little Southern charm and positive healing light to the St Luke’s stage.
The charismatic Fancy Hagood is a self-declared ‘Southern Curiousity’ – an openly gay man in country music. He sang an open hearted set of songs that showcased his impressive vocal abilities on highlights like ‘Forest’ and ‘Isn’t That Life’. What further endeared him to the crowd was his willingness to share his vulnerability and humour, both in his lyrics and the stories he told between songs. His genuine appreciation for live music and the audience set the tone for a night of emotional connection and gratitude.
Despite not touring the US regularly, Ashley Monroe always seems happy to play overseas which her Scottish fans are truly grateful for. She began her set playing beautiful new song ‘There You Are’ on piano, and her voice has never sounded better. Only two other new songs from her album featured in the set, including my personal favourite ‘Risen Road’ which sounded fantastic and ‘Hot Rod Pipe Dream’ which after a false start really rocked out.
Both her and Fancy shared the same excellent band for the evening and they added a different dimension than her previous solo acoustic set in the same venue a few years ago, sounding particularly good on her classic country songs ‘If the Devil Don’t Want Me’ and ‘Mayflowers’.
Before playing ‘Heart Like Mine’, Ashley told us stories of taking Miranda Lambert to Dollywood and responded positively to a fan request that she try to bring the Pistol Annies over the pond at some point. She then played the other hit song she co-wrote – Jason Aldean’s, ‘The Truth’ admitting that she has a new found appreciation for those songs since ‘hits are hard to come by’.
Ashley introduced her signature song ‘Like a Rose’ by telling a story about writing with Guy Clark and then followed that lovely performance with ‘Weed Instead of Roses’ her most outrageously fun number. She then invited Fancy Hagood back on stage for a celebratory duet of ‘Islands in the Stream’ which went down a storm with the crowd.
During her unplanned encore Ashley played a cover song of Carlene Carter’s ‘Me and the Wildwood Rose’ as a tribute to her grandmother, who had sadly been taken into hospital that day. It was a tender and poignant tribute to the power of music and family love.
Ashley finished the set by playing a stunning version of ‘The Blade’ solo on the piano before telling the appreciative crowd that she’s ‘always loved playing here’ will ‘always come back’ which is exactly what we all wanted to hear after a night of such great music.
Tour dates & album info: https://www.ashleymonroe.com
Setlist
There You Are
Hands on You
She Wakes Me Up
If the Devil Don’t Want Me
Risen Road
Hot Rod Pipe Dream
Heart Like Mine
The Truth
Mayflowers
Like a Rose
Weed Instead of Roses
Islands in the Stream (duet with Fancy Hagood)
Winning Streak
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Me and the Wildwood Rose
The Blade
Highway Queens 
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