Rising Stars: Meet Brooke Mcbride of Asheboro, NC/Nashville, TN

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brooke Mcbride

Hi Brooke, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
When I was 8 years old, I got my first guitar. But I was an active kid and grew up in a competitive sport centered town, so I spent most of my childhood playing travel softball and basketball. That’s where I first learned what it meant to be on the road every weekend.

During that time I kept playing guitar and started writing songs. I wrote my first song when I was 12 years old. By the time I was a senior in high school, I decided that writing songs and singing those songs was what I was most passionate about. I quit sports that year to record a 10 song album as my senior project.

After high school, I went to UNCW where I started studying marketing, in hopes of being able to promote my music career. However, I knew Nashville is where I really needed to be to make that happen. So in 2013 I transferred to Belmont University where I received my Music Business degree. I started playing writer’s rounds around town and on the weekend’s I’d pack my band up and we’d go cut our teeth in whatever dive bars would book us all the way from Massachusetts to Montana.

Since then I have been fortunate enough to open for some of the artists I grew up listening to like Tracy Lawrence, Sammy Kershaw, Uncle Kracker, Parmalee, Walker Hayes, and many more. One of the things I’m most proud of is being featured on WSM Radio (Home of the Grand Ole Opry). I’ve gotten to do some neat things over the years like being a featured extra on the television series “Nashville” and being part of a promo commercial for the CMA Awards. But my goal has never been money and fame, and it’s a good thing because if that was the goal I would’ve had to quit a long time ago. My goal has always been to connect with people through my songwriting and hopefully make a difference in some way. I feel fortunate that I have been able to be a full time musician for the last 10 years and I’m excited to see what the next decade brings.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
HA! Some of the best advice I ever received was at a songwriter’s conference before I ever moved to Nashville. Marla Sitten told us something to the extent of “If there is ANYTHING else you guys can see yourselves doing, do that. If you can see yourselves in any other career, don’t become a songwriter. Because this is TOUGH. But if there’s nothing else in the world you can picture yourself doing, you have to go for it.” I knew right then and there I had to go for it. There was no plan B for me. But man was she right, it has been SO hard. You’ll hear 1000 “no’s” for every 1 “yes.”

When me and my band were playing dive bars, sometimes we would drive 8 hours and play for 5 people. It was really disheartening. There’s been lots of shows where I’ve just played to the bartender. I remember one weekend specifically, I was about to quit my waitressing job and pursue music full time. I had been on the road all weekend with my band playing shows in Missouri. After I paid my band, paid the hotel and travel expenses, I counted my cut and it was $6. I thought, how in the world am I ever going to survive as a full time musician? But it is all about persistence. I waited a little longer to quit my waitressing job and the show offers kept getting better and better. You just have to keep showing up. If you keep showing up, and keep honing your craft, something will eventually happen.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a full time musician and singer/songwriter. I call my songwriting style, “No fluff, no filler, just real, raw, country music.” I try to only write what is real, and all of my songs have a story behind them. Not all of my songs are my own story, per-se, but they are somebody’s story and I feel compelled to tell them.

You can find my music wherever you get your music online: Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, etc.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Sherrill Blackman was the man that convinced me I needed to move to Nashville. I was 16 or 17 and my songwriting was subpar at best, but I was at a songwriting conference in Winston-Salem and I remember Sherrill telling my mom “I had it. I needed to move to Nashville.” And that was all I needed to hear to know that one day I was going to end up in Nashville writing songs.
I also give huge credit to both my mom and dad for going around to a ton of, for lack of a better word, crappy, shows with me and always supporting me. Mom would set up my merch booth and sell my merchandise while I played to a handful of people. I am extremely fortunate to have parents that believed in me and didn’t gasp when I said I was going to be a full time musician.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.brookemcbridemusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brookemcbridemusic
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brookemcbridemusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/brookemcbridemusic
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6viklbaregoeMUc75UTeyx?si=nfJwjtBcR3OyoiXMHqP7aw