Ashley Monroe has released Magnolia, the latest single from her upcoming album Tennessee Lightning. The track was written with Waylon Payne and Brendan Benson and arrives with a video directed by Erika Rock, filmed in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
New album Tennessee Lightning lands in August ahead of a run of UK tour dates including a Manchester gig at Band on the Wall.
Reflecting on the new single’s origins, Ashley Monroe said, “Waylon Payne, Brendan Benson and I wrote this song back in 2015. It’s haunted me ever since. We were on a Bobbie Gentry train-of-thought that day… musing as to what she might be up to these days and talking about how much her music affected us. We let ourselves get deep into the Mississippi Delta. I definitely honed in on that part of my own soul. I like sleeping on sheets of satin too… but you sure can’t hide my gingham soul.”
Speaking about the visuals, she added, “From the day we wrote this song, I saw the scenes I was singing about in my mind. And when it finally came time to shoot the video, I knew we had to go to the Delta. We didn’t have time to go all the way to Mississippi, but we went to Muscle Shoals and with a little help from our friends, we were able to create exactly what I had envisioned.”
Magnolia follows other tastes of the album, including The Touch featuring Marty Stuart and Bitter Swisher Sweet featuring Brittney Spencer. The full album features 17 tracks and includes contributions from T Bone Burnett, Karen Fairchild, Butch Walker, and Armand Hutton, among others. Monroe co-produced the project with GRAMMY-winning producer and engineer Gena Johnson.
The album landed after she learned to see herself and the world in a different 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 grueling 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.”
When Will Ashley Monroe Release Tennessee Lightning?
Ashley Monroe will release Tennessee Lightning on 8 August via her label, Mountainrose Sparrow. The album is available to pre-order and pre-save now.
When Is Ashley Monroe Headlining at Band on the Wall?
Ashley Monroe will perform at Band on the Wall in Manchester on 21 August 2025. The show is part of a UK run with Fancy Hagood. Confirmed UK and Ireland dates are:
21 August – Manchester, Band on the Wall
22 August – Leicestershire, The Long Road Festival
25 August – Glasgow, Saint Luke’s
27 August – London, Islington Assembly Hall
image of Ashley Monroe courtesy Erika Rock
