The tales of bad behavior and excessive alcohol use singer and songwriter Ashley McBryde favors on 2022’s Lindeville and 2023’s The Devil I Know register as country tropes, but the albums find McBryde playing tragedy for the comedy it sometimes contains. The Arkansas native paid tribute to the great Nashville songwriter and singer Dennis Linde on Lindeville, which is like an updated version of a Statler Brothers comedy album mixed with The Who Sell Out. The songwriting on Lindeville is superb, and that includes the fictional commercials — “Dandelion Diner” hawks a range of pies that includes “butterscotch and chicken pot” — that remind me of the fake ads on The Who’s classic 1967 takedown of youth culture and consumerism. Meanwhile, The Devil I Know is advanced Nashville rock country, complete with big guitars and songs that demonstrate her feel for characters who are struggling to define themselves. McBryde might mention George Jones and Patsy Cline in the Devil I Know song “Blackout Betty,” but the music is modern country at its most evolved. Thursday and Friday at Chief’s, McBryde continues her ongoing series of two-night residencies at the venue with a pair of acoustic shows. She’ll continue the residencies through April with shows that feature her favorite cover versions and selections from Lindeville.
Jan. 22-23 at Chief’s on Broadway
200 Broadway
