MCA Nashville
Kassi Ashton
With a little bit of rock, a hell of a lot of soul, and a throwback R&B groove, Kassi Ashton has crash landed on country radio. “Dates In Pickup Trucks,” her irresistible debut radio single dropped in February, on the eve of her own 28th birthday. “It feels powerful,” she says of the moment’s alignment. Speaking about the song’s playfulness, she adds, “I want it to show that there are many sides to me.”
The release marks the critical next step for the buzzy young singer. Named to Ones to Watch lists by publications like Huffington Post and The Tennessean as well as juggernaut radio personality Bobby Bones, Ashton spent 2019 as one of the openers on Maren Morris’s GIRL World Tour. In 2018, she was featured on Keith Urban’s CMA Album of the Year-nominated LP, Graffiti U.
The simmering new song, it turns out, has a surprising origin story: an uncharacteristically giddy phone call between Ashton and her grandmother. One of nine children and known for her take-no-prisoners attitude, the singer was shocked when, one day, her elder fell into a fit of giggles on the other end of the line. “She’s like, ‘Me and your grandpa went on a date last night,’” Ashton recalls. “‘I made dinner, we packed it up in the truck, and we drove around all the roads we hadn’t seen in a long time.’”
Ashton got to thinking about the nights she stepped out under the stars in her own pickup, back in her one-stoplight hometown of California, Missouri. (“You can gravel road for hours, where I come from” she quips.) Ashton brought the idea into a co-writing session with Luke Laird, who, while having served as the pen behind massive hits by Thomas Rhett, Eric Church, and Carrie Underwood, is also, as Ashton explains affectionately, the “other half of my creative brain,” and David Garcia. Initially, her collaborators both balked at what they considered a kitschy title. “They’re like, ‘This is not the girl I know!’” Ashton says, laughing.
But together they leaned into a ripped-from-the-90s vibe, channeling a hypnotic, rubber band beat. They adorned it with dobro, steel guitar, and Ashton’s Winehousian vocal. And within the day, the three had twisted a simple memory shared between generations into something they couldn’t turn off. “We were joking about how if Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg got high in a Chevy pickup truck and rode around, this is what they would listen to,” says Ashton.
That the song resists the cliché its own title may suggest—what with it hitting all the major format airwave buzzwords of late—is in part why Ashton loves it. “If I were to see a song called ‘Dates in Pickup Trucks’, I would go, ugh,” she jokes. “But this is how I grew up, and we used the idea in way that felt fresh.” She took something well worn, refracted it through her own musical identity—something that formed in her Missouri kitchen singing Etta, Aretha, and Reba into a broom handle with her mom and sister—to create the sound of the future.
“I’ve lived real life,” Ashton explains. “I’ve had shit happen to me.” Raised between two homes. Bullying in school. Cancer. “I’m telling the truth.” It’s become the thread that ties each of her
releases, which dance between modern and classic influences, together. “There’s a gritty, soulful bottom end to my music,” she says.
Ashton debuted the cut live not two days later at a showcase in Nashville and felt the room react immediately. It wasn’t a fluke. The same thing happened each night on the GIRL tour later that year. After every show, her DMs would fill with fans telling her they loved “the truck song” or, more frequently, that they were desperate for the cut to release. It’s been a welcome reminder for the singer that the purest moments of creation just happen: “We had fun, and the fun transferred into the song.”
Thinking about the song’s release, Ashton says she can’t wait to hear the cut piping through car stereos everywhere. “It sounds like something you want to listen to while driving,” she says, more than once. Nostalgic. Free. “I used to think my debut single had to showcase everything I can do.” But, ever the worthy teacher, time has corrected that notion. “One song doesn’t have to, and can’t, be fully me.” Instead, it’s the clear-eyed vision that remains consistent: “I want people to hear something from me and think, the only person who could pull this off is her.”
Now, Ashton files music—hers and that of others—into two camps, regardless of their genre or mood. “I think about bing-bing music and boom-boom music,” she says. The latter has weight. Eric Church. Rihanna. Adele. They all register, deep in your core. Or, as Ashton says, “They make your gut pulse.” “Dates In Pickup Trucks,” with its visceral imagery, sweet-as-summer melody, and intoxicating rhythm certainly goes boom.
Releases
Videos
Kassi Ashton – Called Crazy (Official Audio)
News
May 31, 2024
Kassi Ashton Releases New Song “I Don’t Wanna Dance” Out Now
Kassi Joins Jamey Johnson on Select What A View Tour Dates NASHVILLE, Tenn. – May 31, 2024– Today,rising country star Kassi Ashton serves up a smoky and sultry new song with “I Don’t Wanna Dance” out now via MCA Nashville. Listen to/share the new song HERE and watch the visualizer HERE. Across the track, softly strummed acoustic chords and slide guitar rustle beneath Kassi’s undeniable […]
September 15, 2023
Kassi Ashton Releases Sultry Dark Room Edition of “Drive You Out of My Mind”
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (September 15, 2023) – MCA Nashville artist Kassi Ashtonreleases a sultry Dark Room Edition of her Top 40 tune “Drive You Out Of My Mind.” Written by Ashton with Travis Wood and Todd Clark, “Drive You Out of My Mind” has made waves as MusicRow notes, “Ashton rocks out on this hit-the-road, tempestuous tempo tune,” and Country […]
January 19, 2018
KASSI ASHTON RELEASES “CALIFORNIA, MISSOURI” TODAY
Newcomer Kassi Ashton, recently named “Who to Watch” by Huffington Post, The Tennessean, and radio personality Bobby Bones’ Class of 2018, releases “California, Missouri” to all digital partners today. Listen HERE. Quickly making a name for herself with her soulful voice and authentic songwriting, Kassi shares, “This is the song I always knew I wanted […]
December 14, 2017
KASSI ASHTON SIGNS TO UMG NASHVILLE AND INTERSCOPE RECORDS
New Music Expected in Early 2018 Promising newcomer Kassi Ashton recently signed to UMG Nashville in conjunction with Interscope Records. The California, Missouri native has been making a name for herself in music thanks to her authentic songwriting, soulfully rich voice and commanding stage presence. “You don’t have to be around her very long before […]
October 18, 2022
Kassi Ashton Joins Old Dominion for NO BAD VIBES TOUR
Current CMA Award Vocal Group of the Year and Album of the Year nominees Old Dominion announced their upcoming No Bad Vibes Tour set to kick off in spring 2023. The surprise announcement was made to a capacity crowd at Loser’s Bar and Grill in Nashville during Monday night’s Whiskey Jam performance. Old Dominion, who got their start as regulars on the Whiskey […]
June 3, 2022
KASSI ASHTON RELEASES NEW TRACK “I DON’T GO BACK” TODAY Videos for “I Don’t Go Back” and “Dates In Pickup Trucks” Performed Live at VEVO Studio Out Now MCA Nashville and Interscope Records artist Kassi Ashton releases new song “I Don’t Go Back,” today. Written by Ashton with Luke Laird and Hillary Lindsey, “I Don’t Go […]
May 13, 2022
KASSI ASHTON TURNS UP THE HEAT IN “DATES IN PICKUP TRUCKS” OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO
KASSI ASHTON TURNS UP THE HEAT IN “DATES IN PICKUP TRUCKS” OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO With a little bit of rock, a hell of a lot of soul, and a throwback R&B groove, Kassi Ashton has crash landed on country radio with her latest song and radio debut, “Dates In Pickup Trucks.” In the official music video, out today, […]
February 4, 2022
KASSI ASHTON RELEASES DEBUT RADIO SINGLE “DATES IN PICKUP TRUCKS”
KASSI ASHTON RELEASES DEBUT RADIO SINGLE “DATES IN PICKUP TRUCKS” “Dates In Pickup Trucks” Ships To Country Radio February 7 – Add Date February 28 MCA Nashville/Interscope recording artist Kassi Ashton released her new single “Dates In Pickup Trucks” today. Penned by Kassi, David Garcia, and Luke Laird, the breezy tune takes the listener […]
October 22, 2021
KASSI ASHTON RELEASES DYNAMIC NEW SONG “HEAVYWEIGHT”
KASSI ASHTON RELEASES DYNAMIC NEW SONG “HEAVYWEIGHT” MCA Nashville/Interscope recording artist Kassi Ashton released her dynamic new song, “Heavyweight,” today. Written by Kassi, Luke Laird, and Hillary Lindsey, the sultry song tells a story of a woman being underestimated in the midst of heart break. The lyrics, Whatever you got to say, I’d appreciate / […]
November 13, 2020
KASSI ASHTON RELEASES “HARD CANDY CHRISTMAS” TODAY
KASSI ASHTON RELEASES “HARD CANDY CHRISTMAS” TODAY Rising star Kassi Ashton mixes melancholy and hope beautifully to deliver a stirring rendition of the Dolly Parton classic “Hard Candy Christmas.” Written by Carol Hall for the Broadway musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, which later became a movie starring Parton, “Hard Candy Christmas” serves as […]
October 7, 2020
KASSI ASHTON RELEASES “BLACK MOTORCYCLE”
KASSI ASHTON RELEASES “BLACK MOTORCYCLE” New Song Coincides with Harley-Davidson® Brand Ambassadorship MCA Nashville’s Kassi Ashton releases new song “Black Motorcycle” today. The song accompanies the announcement of Kassi’s partnership with Harley-Davidson® as one of its brand ambassadors. The track caught the attention of Harley-Davidson® when Kassi performed for employees in Wisconsin last year. Her […]
January 27, 2020
Kassi Ashton Premieres New Music Video for “Hopeless” Today on CMT
Kassi Ashton’s “Striking” New Music Video for “Hopeless” Premieres Today on CMT High Resolution Art HERE NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Monday, January 27, 2020) – Kassi Ashton is one of the most compelling rising stars in Nashville and with her latest song “Hopeless,” the desperation of unrequited love is palpable in every note. The song, written by […]
April 3, 2019
KASSI ASHTON UNVEILS EMOTIONAL NEW MUSIC VIDEO FOR “PRETTY SHINY THINGS”
Kassi Ashton, one of the most compelling rising stars in Nashville, has today unveiled a haunting new music video for her song “Pretty Shiny Things.” The stylish piece features Kassi beautifully made up, lying on a stage surrounded by glass trinkets and mirrors, with a melancholic color palette that matches the emotional lyrics of the […]
March 22, 2019
KASSI ASHTON RELEASES NEW SONG “PRETTY SHINY THINGS”
KASSI ASHTON RELEASES NEW SONG “PRETTY SHINY THINGS” Kassi Ashton, one of the most compelling rising stars in Nashville, has today released a new song entitled, “Pretty Shiny Things.” Produced by Luke Laird and co-written by Kassi and Emily Landis, the emotional ballad highlights Kassi’s incredible vocal talent and showcases a more raw and vulnerable […]
February 13, 2019
KASSI ASHTON RELEASES VIBRANT NEW MUSIC VIDEO FOR “VIOLINS”
Watch the Video Now HERE Kassi Ashton (“Violins” Official Music Video) Kassi Ashton, one of Nashville’s most compelling rising stars, has released the new music video for her song “Violins” today. A vibrant and entertaining reflection of the song’s empowering lyrics, the piece finds her shutting down an immature suitor amidst the fitting backdrop of […]
January 25, 2019
KASSI ASHTON RELEASES NEW SONG “VIOLINS”
Kassi Ashton, one of the most compelling rising stars in Nashville, has released her highly-anticipated new song “Violins” today. Produced by Luke Dick and Luke Laird, and co-written by Kassi, Luke Dick and Natalie Hemby, the empowering anthem seesaws between her dynamic delivery, raucous twang, and wailing guitars. Kassi’s undeniably authentic lyrics are on […]
May 25, 2018
KASSI ASHTON RELEASES “TAXIDERMY” TODAY
Kassi Ashton, one of Nashville’s most compelling rising stars, releases “Taxidermy” to all digital partners today. Bringing her characteristic swagger and take-no-prisoners attitude to the title, Kassi makes the Natalie Hemby, Luke Dick and Rosi Golan-written song entirely her own. “I knew the second I heard ‘Taxidermy’ I had to have it,” says Kassi. “It’s […]