Ashley Monroe announced her sixth studio album Tennessee Lightning will be released August 8th.
Recorded in the wake of Monroe’s transformative bout with cancer, the 17-song collection documents her remarkable journey as a celebration of life, love and the healing power of music.
Along with the announcement, the 3x GRAMMY nominee shares her new single “The Touch” (feat. Marty Stuart), a smouldering love song complete with a dreamy guitar riff from Stuart on guitar and Shelby Lynne on bass. In the spirit of true collaboration, Tennessee Lightning also includes contributions from special guests T Bone Burnett, Brittney Spencer, Waylon Payne, Brendan Benson, Butch Walker, Karen Fairchild and Armand Hutton.
“‘The Touch’ is the first song I ever wrote with the incredible Marty Stuart,” says Monroe. “It was storming so loud that day, and we could feel the electricity just hanging in the air. He played that guitar lick, and my heart melted. I’ve always been a fan of timeless love songs. So honored to have Marty write this one with me and play on it! I’m also so proud to have Shelby Lynne on bass! What a band!”
Stuart added, “‘The Touch’ is a majestic song. When Ashley and I were recording the words and music onto our cell phones moments after we’d finished writing it, the Nashville sky filled with thunder. The windows in the room where the song came to life rattled like bones. We laughed and took that as a sign that God liked the song. Lightning in a bottle if you will. I didn’t think any performance of the song could get any better than our inspired working version. Ashley’s formal recording, however, takes the song up into the clouds and commands time to stand still. The harmonies are glorious. ‘The Touch’ is four minutes and fifty-one seconds of pure magic. The kind of song we long for.”
Co-produced by Monroe with GRAMMY-winning producer/engineer Gena Johnson (John Prine, Jason Isbell), Tennessee Lightning is a sprawling epic spanning from the innocence of childhood and the grief of loss to the thrill of romance and the joy of motherhood. Teaming up once again with Johnson, the pair weaved together strands of country, folk, blues, soul and dreamy bedroom pop. The result is a 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 gruelling 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.” In the end, that’s what Tennessee Lightning is all about: transcendence in the face of struggle, community in the face of isolation, love in the face of fear.
“The Touch” follows the release of three album tracks including the ethereal “There You Are“, the revved-up “Hot Rod Pipe Dream” and the shimmering “Risen Road“. Monroe’s recent work has been lauded by American Songwriter, CMT, Stereogum and People Magazine, who interviewed her about this musical “fresh start”. Tennessee Lightning follows Monroe’s 2021 album Rosegold, which received widespread acclaim from the Nashville Scene, No Depression, Vulture, Paste Magazine, Garden & Gun, Stereogum and many more.
On July 25th, Monroe will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of her GRAMMY-nominated 2015 album The Blade with a one-night-only show at Nashville’s The Basement East, where she will perform the record in its entirety. For tickets and more information, visit ashleymonroe.com.