Ashley McBryde’s ‘Stone’ Is a Song for Her Late Brother

In 2018, Ashley McBryde's brother Clay died by suicide. On her new album, the country star channels the experience into the song "Stone," which she debuted on Thursday night (Feb. 21) during the 2020 Country Radio Seminar.

McBryde wrote "Stone" with friend and frequent collaborator Nicolette Hayford, who also lost a brother who was a veteran. The singer says the song channels both the anger and the grief she feels over Clay's death, and was "very, very therapeutic."

"We had gotten off subject, and I cackled, and I went, 'Oh my God, I laugh just like my brother Clay,'" McBryde recalls. "And she went, 'Oh my God, you're so angry because you're so hurt, and you're so hurt because you didn't know you were so much like him until he died.' And I started bawling ... I didn't know I felt that way until we wrote that."

McBryde's brother, who died on June 20, 2018, in Russellville, Ark., served in Iraq and was an officer with the Russellville Police Department for 25 years. At the time of his death, he was 53 years old, and had recently married his wife, Tanya, in November of 2017.

McBryde played "Stone" at CRS 2020 during a late-night performance for country radio programmers and industry members. She performed the song as an encore following a four-song set of new material from her forthcoming album, Never Will, that earned rousing applause from the packed suite.

"Stone" is one of 11 new songs from McBryde on Never Will, which is due out on April 3. She's already unveiled the album's lead single, "One Night Standards," as well as "Martha Divine" and "Hang in There Girl." On Thursday night, she also played the Brandy Clark co-write "Sparrow" and bluegrass-influenced "Velvet Red."

5 Things to Know About Ashley McBryde

Ashley McBryde Got Quite the Compliment From Eric Church!