Watch Ashley Monroe's 'Moth' Video
(MPG) On Friday, 3x GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter Ashley Monroe released her sixth studio album Tennessee Lightning. Co-produced with GRAMMY-winning producer/engineer Gena Johnson (John Prine, Jason Isbell), the 17-song collection was recorded in the wake of Monroe's transformative bout with cancer and recounts her remarkable journey as a celebration of life, love and the healing power of music.
The album features contributions from T Bone Burnett, Marty Stuart, Brittney Spencer, Waylon Payne, Brendan Benson, Butch Walker, Karen Fairchild and Armand Hutton.
On Friday, Variety published a feature interview with Monroe about the new album, premiering the official video for "Moth" that features appearances from Lukas Nelson and her Pistol Annies bandmate Angaleena Presley.
Tennessee Lightning has received acclaim from The Nashville Scene, People, Stereogum, NPR Music, Music Row, The Observer, Americana UK and many more. No Depression proclaimed its "an electrifying new album that traverses a variety of musical landscapes, from swampy blues to gospel to pop and country." On Friday, The New York Times included her song "Amen Love" in "The Playlist," making her second appearance in their weekly roundup of the week's most notable new tracks following the "pristine" single "The Touch" (feat. Marty Stuart) that was released in April.
The album is rich, multifaceted meditation on identity, purpose, and meaning from an artist who's learned to see herself - and the world around her - in a whole new light following a life-altering diagnosis. "When I got diagnosed with lymphoma and started my treatment, I stopped writing, I stopped hearing melodies, I stopped thinking about songs at all," Monroe recalls. For six months, she focused almost exclusively on her recovery and her family as she underwent a grueling regimen of injections and transfusions.
"When I finally went into remission, I could feel the life and the music start flowing in my veins again," she explains. "It was like a flood, just this rush of inspiration." Along with that inspiration came a newfound clarity and gratitude, as well as a vision for this new album.
"I feel like I've emerged from these last few years with a pretty profound perspective shift. I've learned to be more in the moment, to appreciate what's right in front of me and enjoy every second I get to spend doing what I love with the people I care about."
Late last month, Monroe celebrated the 10th anniversary of her GRAMMY-nominated album The Blade with a special one-night-only performance of the album in full at The Basement East and released an anniversary edition featuring three previously unreleased tracks. Among them is "Fight For It," a timeless anthem about resilience that was co-written by Monroe alongside Shane McAnally (Kacey Musgraves, Miranda Lambert) and Gordie Sampson (Josh Turner, Walker Hayes) featuring Vince Gill on background vocals.
On August 21, Monroe will kick off a European tour with Fancy Hagood in Manchester, UK that will make stops in Glasgow, London, Amsterdam and more. Find a full list of tour dates below or visit her website.
Ashley Monroe 2025 Tour Dates:
August 21 - Manchester, UK - Band On the Wall *
August 22 - Leicestershire, UK - The Long Road Festival
August 25 - Glasgow, UK - Saint Luke's *
August 27 - London, UK - Islington Assembly Hall *
August 28 - Amsterdam, NL - Melkweg *
September 19-21 - Bristol, TN - Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion
* with Fancy Hagood
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