Women in country music are always worth celebrating! Today we shine our spotlight on a talented female, newcomer in the genre, Ashley Brooks. Brooks chatted with us all about her love of country music, stepping into the limelight, and everything that truly makes her the artist that she is.

“I’m currently in North, Georgia,” she began. “I grew up with a dad who was in bands my whole childhood. He’s a guitar player. So when I got old enough, I asked him to be in a band with me, and he said that if I could write songs, he would.” Throughout her childhood, Brooks was always enamored with music, finding it to be a constant throughout her life.

“I remember being super, super little watching ‘The Little Mermaid,’ and trying to replicate her singing in the mirror, so my parents got me a karaoke machine. I remember being really little and sitting in my room with the OG country CDs and just singing along with them. […] I knew it was something that I loved. My dad bought me my first guitar,” shared the songstress.

She fell in love with artists like Lee Ann Womack, The Judds, and Loretta Lynn at an early age. “I always listened to country music,” she shared, adding, “My dad was actually more into the 80s rock bands, so I know a ton of 80s rock as well. It’s been in my blood since birth now.”

The Turning Point:

Despite loving country music and having natural talent, Brooks pursued a career in healthcare. “I dove into the healthcare world, and I made a great career in Georgia, and then I was like you know, I’m 20 something years old, if I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it, and I started writing my first song, and people really took to it.”

With the support of her dad, whose been in her band since its inception and the help of her mom running the merch stand, Brooks took the plunge into the crazy, yet exciting world of country music. “I want to be the Lee Ann Womack crossbred with Gretchen Wilson, like wild and rowdy, but can sing the bluegrass, heartfelt, high tones too,” shared the singer.

Slowly, but surely, Brooks started making waves on social media with her music, especially her song, “Leaving Side Of You.” Eventually, after writing music mostly by herself, Brooks started writing with SONY, which gave her the confidence and the experience to continue down this exciting path.

“Songwriting is the bread and butter of what I do. Songwriting is definitely it. I was going through a really tough period of my life in 2023, a lot of emotional stuff, and I just decided to pour it into music. That I feel like is what took it to the next level, just taking your life experiences, like Taylor Swifting somebody, and just literally writing a song about someone. But I always wrote alone, and then I started writing at SONY and other writers.”

Today:

Flash forward to today, 2026 is looking to be the biggest year yet for Brooks. A the end of the 2025, she released her sassy song, “For The Bar,” as well as, an acoustic cover of her viral song, “Leaving Side Of You.” “There’s this whole next level of songwriting with so many talented people. I’m just trying to grow my skills and do more collaborating,” she shared when talking about gaining experience in the industry.

When asked about “For The Bar,” Brooks shared that the song just fell out. The track adds to her growing live show too. “”For The Bar” was a cool idea that I had, a lot of times men are at the bar, but not really looking for anything but a hookup, and for women, a lot of the time it’s just so not traditional. So we were at SONY one day, and I was showing them this idea. […] It’s just kind of a “you didn’t see that coming in a song” kinda thing.”

In addition to “For The Bar,” Brooks also released a song called “Better Bars.” The single is another tempo track that feels live show ready, something that the singer hopes to do a lot more of this year.

“I’m keeping the momentum going, and hopefully being back on the Grand Ole Opry stage,” shared the singer. Stay tuned for more from Brooks!

Connect:

To keep up with Ashley Brooks, follow her on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Ashley Brooks’ music is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.