JONESBORO (CelebrityAccess) – Ashley McBryde joined Arkansas State’s Spring 2025 Commencement Ceremony this morning, Saturday (May 10), to receive her Honorary Doctorate of Music, with Chancellor Todd Shields recognizing that her “determination and contributions to American Music is a testament to the opportunities that higher education can open and inspire for generations of Arkansas State University alums.”
“Earning a degree in music has always been something I’ve placed a lot of value in. It was something I felt I needed to accomplish. In my time here at A-State, I found my passion not only for performing, but for creating other musicians. The music education program is priceless. I’m so thankful for educators that pushed me to strive for excellence: Greg and Hope Bruner, Robin Dauer, Ed Alexander, Doctor Ken Carroll, Doctor Tom O’Connor and so many more. While my path to music education wound up looking a little different than a traditional one, I never lost my passion for music education, and I work alongside music educators every chance I get. Thank you for shaping me into the advocate I became, the musician I am today and the entrepreneur I didn’t know I was going to have to be.
There are doctors in my family, Doctors of Medicine, so I know that when you address someone by that word, you’re acknowledging their rank. You’re acknowledging a lifetime – time, money, effort, everything they’ve got that they’ve spent in pursuit of excellence in their chosen field. The residencies, internships, fellowships, the many accomplishments and the many failures it takes to accomplish them. I have dedicated my life to the pursuit of and the magic of making music, and hopefully I will inspire others to do so.
This stage became my classroom. Board proficiencies were in rooms of tens and then one hundreds and then thousands – those are hard to pass. I’ve been judged on late night TV shows, morning talk shows, award shows. Those are especially hard to pass because all of social media is there to give you a pass or fail grade on the spot. The people making remarks are the icons and legends of my field, and they just so happen to be names you’re familiar with: Wynonna Judd, Vince Gill, Hank Williams Jr. My classmates were Luke Combs, Kacey Musgraves, Chris Stapleton, Jon Pardi – it sounds like I’m name dropping, but these are the people I went into the trenches with.
I left this campus as a broke, guitar playing, songwriting chick who played in bars for a living, and I stand here today as a GRAMMY-Award winning songwriter. A member of the Grand Ole Opry. And I look forward to being introduced on that sacred stage this week as Dr. Ashley McBryde. Thank you so much.”
McBryde will perform at Opry 100 Honors: Loretta Lynn this Tuesday, May 13. She’s set to perform at CMA Fest at Nissan Stadium; Country Thunder Wisconsin and Alberta; WE Fest; and more festivals this summer among headlining dates. She will also join Little Big Town in West Palm Beach, FL and Orange Beach, AL in August.
Ashley McBryde Tour Dates
May 13 Opry 100 Honors: Loretta Lynn // Nashville, TN
May 15 SKyPAC // Bowling Green, KY
May 16 Peoples Bank Theatre // Marietta, OH
May 17 The Event Center at Hollywood Casino // Charles Town, WV
May 29 American Music Theatre // Lancaster, PA
May 30 Parx Xcite Center // Bensalem, PA
May 31 Paramount Theater // Charlottesville, VA
June 8 CMA Fest – Nissan Stadium // Nashville, TN
June 13 IP Casino Resort Spa – Studio A // Biloxi, MS
June 14 Peach Jam // Clanton, AL
June 20 Golden Nugget Lake Charles Hotel & Casino // Lake Charles, LA
June 21 Wild Adventures Live! 2025 // Valdosta, GA
June 26 Country Stampede // Topeka, KS
June 28 Billy Bob’s // Fort Worth, TX
July 10 Weldon Mills Theatre // Roanoke Rapids, NC
July 12 Country Concert 2025 // Fort Laramie, OH
July 17 Kresge Auditorium // Interlochen, MI
July 18 Country Thunder Wisconsin // Twin Lakes, WI
July 19 The Amp at Log Still // Gethsemane, KY
July 25 Night In The Country Music Festival // Yerington, NV
Aug. 1 Happys Inn // Libby, MT
Aug. 2 Big Valley Jamboree // Camrose, AB
Aug. 7 WE Fest // Detroit Lakes, MN
Aug. 13 Put In Bay // Put-In-Bay, OH
Aug. 15 Country Thunder Alberta // Calgary, AB
Aug. 21 iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre // West Palm Beach, FL (with Little Big Town)
Aug. 23 The Wharf Amphitheater // Orange Beach, AL (with Little Big Town)
Sept. 12 Point of the Bluff Vineyards // Hammondsport, NY
Sept. 13 Spyglass Ridge Winery // Sunbury, PA
Oct. 4 Stars Over Texas Music Festival 2025 // Ennis, TX
