Who is Ashley Cooke?
A passionate musician from a young age, Ashley Cooke moved around a lot as a child, but eventually landed in Parkland, Florida. Upon graduating from high school the singer-songwriter moved to Nashville to attend Belmont University.
“I have been around music my whole life but when I went to Belmont I decided to really focus on music full time,” says Cooke. “I was a communications and marketing major,” Cooke admits jokingly. “So nothing to do with music.”
Her senior year Cooke entered the Belmont Showcase Series, a premiere country music competition, and won. “Previous winners are like Brad Paisley, Florida Georgia Line, and the list goes on,” says Cooke. “I was so honored.”
Unexpected Pandemic Plans
After her victory Cooke admits that she was excited to get to work on her professional music career. “I was so excited to focus on music full time after my graduation in 2019 but then the pandemic hit. I was like I can’t really do any of the traditional Nashville artist things so I got on social media, specifically TikTok and started making videos.”
With nothing but spare time on hand, Cooke struck gold once she tried her hand at TikTok. “My first video really went viral actually,” Cooke admits. “I have always wanted to be in the music since I was a kid but this past year has definitely been the craziest time of my life thus far.”
“Good Goodbye”
Cooke’s newest single, “Good Goodbye” featuring Jimmie Allen, is an emotional duet that tugs on the heart strings. “We originally wrote the song, myself and Blake Pendergrass, with a duet in mind but we recorded it originally as just me singing it,” Cooke explains. “It was just needing that male presence or the story of the other person on the other end of the line. Jimmie said yes to it and we were so excited for it and it turned out incredible,” Cooke said. “He adds so much to the song.”
Working Well With Others
“Working with Jimmie was unreal,” Cooke said with a smile. “He is one of my favorite people in the world.” Aside from her duet with Jimmie Allen, Cooke has enlisted other talents in crafting her upcoming album. “I have gotten to work with some of the most amazing song writers in this town,” Cooke admits.
“Its honestly really humbling and cool to get to walk into a room with the Nicolle Galyons of the world, and the Craig Wisemans, and Jimmie, and all of these incredible writers that I have gotten to work with.” Cooke’s upcoming Album Already Drank That Beer, Side A, will make its debut on August 27 and was produced by Jimmy Robbins. “My producer Jimmy is just legendary, he is phenomenal, we clicked immediately,” says Cooke.
Already Drank That Beer
Her first full length project, Already Drank That Beer, Side A, features writing credits including Nicolle Galyon, Craig Wiseman, Matt Roy, Hunter Phelps and more. “It’s really cool to get to work with some of the best storytellers in Nashville to tell my story and I am excited for people to be able to hear the true genuine stories of what I have been through,” Cooke says. The eight track album outlines Cooke’s life from adolescence to young woman highlighting the trials, tribulations, and victories within.
“To me this album is a story from top to bottom,” Cooke confides. “There is a song about meeting someone and being flirty, there is a song about getting over someone, there is a song about having to say goodbye, there is a song about finally moving on.” Cooke says that as a songwriter she draws from her own lived experience when creating. “Me being 24 years old, love and relationships are such a huge part of what I am going through in this time in life so that’s why I wrote my truth on paper and put it to melody.”
Ashley Cooke Goes on Tour
Starting on September 10, Ashley Cooke will be appearing live on tour with Breland for a limited time. “I am so pumped this is my first ever tour and it is also Breland’s first ever tour so I am excited to get out there and experience that with a friend of mine.” Cooke will appear alongside Breland for select September dates, with October dates featuring Robyn Ottolini.
“I have been playing a lot of acoustic shows,” Cooke admits. “I love to play acoustic shows but I am excited to switch it up and do something a little different. My producer Jimmy Robbins and I have worked on these songs for so long now and I feel like we haven’t really been able to go out there and give the crowd what we envisioned with a full band.” Tickets to Breland’s tour are available for purchase here.
Tour Schedule*
- September 10- Scoot Inn- Austin, TX
- September 11- House of Blues- Houston, TX
- September 12- House of Blues- Dallas, TX
- September 16- Joe’s on Weed St.- Chicago, IL
- September 17- The Fine Line- Minneapolis, MN
- September 19- El Club- Detroit, MI
- September 21- Brighton Music Hall- Boston, MA
- September 22- Milkboy Philly- Philadelphia, PA
- September 23- Songbyrd Music House- Washington, DC
- *Tour Dates Where Ashley Cooke is Featured Guest (Additional Dates Available Here)
What’s Coming Next For Ashley Cooke?
With a new album on the way and plans to perform live in the fall, Cooke still has her eye on the ball moving forward into the future. “One of my biggest goals this year was to get music out there, get the most quality music that I possibly can out into the world.”
With this mission almost accomplished with the release of Already Drank That Beer, Side A, Cooke admits that “there is a Side B coming. We are already talking about songs for the second half of the project,” Cooke says. “We are talking about music videos and there is just so much coming that I can’t even say all of it but there is just so much coming and I am so excited about it so make sure to stay tuned!”
For more information on Ashley Cooke feel free to visit her website, or follow her Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, Twitter, and YouTube pages.
