Ashley Monroe Full Concert | NPR MUSIC FRONT ROW

Ashley Monroe Full Concert | NPR MUSIC FRONT ROW with tags npr, npr music, national public radio, live, performance, country (musical genre), ashley monroe (composer), tennessee (us state), nashville (city/town/village), wnyc (radio station)

Ashley Monroe is so much more than a Tennessee lark. At 28, she's a seasoned songwriter and performer who has worked in many different musical modes, from classic country to bluegrass to bluesy rock and roll to power pop. Leading her hot band in this First Listen Live performance at WNYC's Greene Space in Manhattan, Monroe demonstrated the range she's mastered on her new, breakthrough album The Blade. Tender ballads like "The Weight Of The Load" effortlessly meshed with rockers like "Winning Streak," and the Southern gospel-tinged sound of "Has Anybody Ever Told You" complemented the modern, swampy sound of "Dixie."After the show, this dazzled critic asked Monroe's fiddler, Eamon McLoughlin, about the tight interplay of that band, which features some of Nashville's top players. "It all comes from her," he said, extolling her deep musicality and calm leadership. Call Monroe a new traditionalist or a genre-defying breath of fresh air for country: Most of all, she's a true and truly versatile musician, and that's what sets her apart. -ANN POWERS

SET LIST

I Buried Your Love Alive

If The Devil Don't Want Me

Weight Of The Load

Has Anybody Ever Told You

On To Something Good

If Love Was Fair

Bombshell

Dixie

The Blade

Winning Streak

Like A Rose

Weed Instead Of Roses

Producer: Saidah Blount

Host: Ann Powers

Director: David McLean

Videographers: Adam Wolffbrandt, Noah Yuan-Vogel

Video Switcher: Andrea Marroquin

Audio Team: Ricardo Fernandez, Gaines Legare, Chase Culpon, Ernie Indradat

Executive Producer: Anya Grundmann