KASSI ASHTON

‘Made From The Dirt' Album Release Party

Monday Spetember 23, 2024

@ Chief's in Nashville, TN

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)

"I like to do things a little different!" – Kassi Ashton

On a busy Nashville night that saw the neon-lit Broadway covered in country music faithful, the multilevel Chief’s held a coziness within the spirit of everybody knows everyone as music Industry representatives outlined eager fans, all enthusiastically awaiting the arrival of country music’s hottest rising star, Kassi Ashton.

Shrouded in an Avant Garde, Tim Burton influenced forest scape that sprawled the stage, which Ashton would later tell she designed and handmade herself, a relaxed state of being freely flowed the atmosphere amongst the sound of distant waves gently rolling out the PA speakers.

A joyous celebration of her debut album Made From The Dirt saw her pouring out every emotion as the overwhelmingness of finally having the album out embodied the excitement of finally having the album out, a labor of love that’s been years in the making.

Travelling the stories behind the crafting of each song on the album, the mentions of breakout hit “Drive You Outta My Mind,” fan favorite “I Don’t Wanna Dance,” and chart climbing single “Called Crazy” were each certainly cheer induced moments, but the depth of this night’s particular sampling focused on the autobiographical twists and turns that offered a deeper look into her heart and soul.

Draped in a fully immersive experience with the backing video wall that highlighted the essence of each lyric, songs such as her moody opener “Made From The Dirt” sprang her diary pages to life through the unbridled conviction of her voice.

Likewise, the softness of “The Straw” would hush the crowd as the bends of her voice carried the weight of the uneasy feelings of her then better half never noticing the slow burning fragileness of her heart break as it continually bound to the inevitable split that would create the start of her fractured next chapter.

The album’s exclamation point, and the final stamp on this 5-song night, firmly presses on “Juantia.” A bonus track of sorts that’s listed as track # 10 on the album offers an ultra-personal gift to her grandmother that came just days after her passing and found its strength through a voice from above that shined a morning sunshine feel of inspiration and hopefulness into the baptismal tilts of the addictive rhythm and her stellar vocal performance.  

With extreme appreciation to those who helped bring the songs to life, hitmaking songwriters Luke Laird and Barry Dean joined Kassi in conversation to talk about the creative process of “Angels Smoke Cigarettes,” emphasizing how each line in the song pointed directly to its strong hook while humbly spotlighting the heightened respect level that each of them has for one another’s talent.

In quite the same way she showered gratefulness upon the packed crowd, tearing up at all the deafening applauses throughout the night while allowing glimpses into her personal life though stories of her upbringing that mixed reminiscing with a heartfelt thank you note to her dad for always letting her be who she is, rebel spirit and all!

With a confident coolness anchoring her overall aura, Kassi Ashton fluidly walked the lines of edgy rock, modern country, and airy throwback pop into a style that cohesively always pointed back to her refreshingly unique voice.

Through wavers of vulnerability and blasts of unapologetic honesty, a transparent boldness brushed the very definitions of who she is into an encouraging reminder that the scars we carry are merely the healed wounds that make us perfectly imperfect and capable of achieving anything we want to.

FULL SET LIST
1) Made From The Dirt
2) The Straw
3) Angels Smoke Cigarettes
4) ‘Til The Lights Go Out
5) Juanita