Ashley McBryde has opened up about the creation process behind her new album, Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville, and how the fictional town and characters came to life while she and six writers were on a retreat.
Brothers Osborne collaborated on the album, with John Osborne serving as co-producer while T.J. Osborne sings with Ashley on “Play Ball.” Brandy Clark, Caylee Hammack and Pillbox Patti appear as vocalists and various members of the town of Lindeville.
The town gets its name from the late songwriter Dennis Linde, the man behind a range of hits, including “Burning Love” by Elvis Presley, The Chicks‘ “Goodbye Earl” and “John Deere Green” by Joe Diffie. “John Deere Green” is centered around the characters Billy Bob and Charlene, with Billy Bob writing his love for Charlene on a water tower.
Ashley and team aimed to emulate Linde’s clever writing style through the 13-track album, which boasts songs like “Jesus Jenny,” “Brenda Put Your Bra On,” “Forkem Family Funeral Home” and more.
“We did it kind of differently. We had characters and then invented … a town, so we thought it would be the best way to tip our hats and honor Dennis Linde’s genius, but be like, ‘Here’s our characters and I would love it if where they lived was named Lindeville,'” Ashley describes. “[Linde] drew a map of a town that was completely fictional, developed characters that live inside that town. The water tower literally says on it, ‘Billy Bob and Charlene’ on the map. Then we wrote songs based on these places and individuals that he was creating in this town.”
Fans can visit Lindeville when the album drops Friday.
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