Fri Apr 11 2025

8:00 PM (Doors 7:00 PM)

SPACE

1245 Chicago Avenue Evanston, IL 60202

$25.00 - $30.00

All Ages

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Ashley Monroe is a Nashville based singer-songwriter known for her stunningly soulful voice and deeply personal lyrics. Born in Knoxville, TN, she fell in love with music at a young age. After losing her father to cancer when she was a teenager, she moved to Music City with her mother, pursuing a dream that would lead to both solo success and acclaim as a member of the supergroup Pistol Annies. Her songs—honest, raw, and reflective—have captured the hearts of fans and critics alike. In 2015, she received two GRAMMY nominations: one for her duet with Blake Shelton on the hit single "Lonely Tonight," nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance, and another for her sophomore album, The Blade, which was nominated for Best Country Album. Five years later, the Pistol Annies received their first GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album with Interstate Gospel. Never one to shy away from reinvention, Monroe’s recent work has ventured beyond her country roots, weaving together sounds from Americana to pop and proving her fearless approach to music. “I’ve always felt like the music I make doesn’t have to be just one genre. It’s all the stories, colors, feelings and sounds of who I am. Like a patchwork quilt of my soul.” After overcoming a rare blood cancer in 2021-22, she returns to the studio with renewed strength and passion, crafting her upcoming sixth album set for release in 2025

Ashley Monroe w. Striking Matches

  • Ashley Monroe

    Ashley Monroe

    Country

    When it comes to country music, Ashley Monroe has a deep-seated fear — that she won't feel adamn thing. For the Tennessee-born singer, whose passion for traditional country is matchedonly by her gift for crisp, clever songwriting, music has to elicit a palpable response. Or else?

    "It's just noise," she says. "Country music is so special to me, it scares me if I hear a song and Idon't feel anything. It really throws me for a loop."

    Monroe is convinced that country fans have a similar reaction and also seek somethingmeaningful in their music. So when she sat down to write her new album The Blade, releasedon Warner Music Nashville, she committed herself to finding songs that would make both herand her audience cry, laugh, think and, metaphorically, bleed.

    "Every track will cut you in a different way," Monroe says, nodding to the album's title.

    Due July 24th, The Blade is the follow-up to 2013's critically acclaimed Like a Rose, whichincluded the sublime — and alternatingly bawdy and poignant — singles "Weed Instead ofRoses," "You Got Me" and the title track. The album was named the top country record of thatyear by Billboard, Rolling Stone and The New York Times, and helped recognize Monroe asone of the genre's most respected talents. She's performed with artists ranging from theRaconteurs and Train to Wanda Jackson and Blake Shelton, and is an indispensablecomponent of the acclaimed trad-country trio Pistol Annies.

    With The Blade, Monroe views the album as Like a Rose's Chapter 2, but says she's a muchmore direct person than she was when writing that project.

    "The first record is me. That's the roots, the base of me. And I had a good vision for that," shesays, "but I've grown since that first record and I have an even more clear vision. I know what Iwant and it's ok to say what I want."

    Produced by Vince Gill and Justin Niebank, who also oversaw Like a Rose, the new albumfeatures soulful lead single "On to Something Good," written with Barry Dean and Luke Laird.Driven by a Muscle Shoals backbeat, the song is Monroe at her most upbeat. Which surpriseseven her.

    "It's hard for me to write up-tempo songs. I want to write a waltz all the time," she says. But "Onto Something Good" provides her with a chance to groove and leave behind some of the angstof her formative years — her father died from cancer when she was 13 — that informed Like aRose. "For many reasons in my life, I could have sat in sadness and let that overcome me. Butyou can't stay at the bottom forever, especially if you keep moving. I'm a better dancer when Idon't look down."
    Still, Monroe has not completely lightened up — and thank God, for that. Encompassing 13tracks, The Blade explores all manners of lost love, failed dreams and harsh revelations. "Thereare some stone-cold country songs on here that are about as sad as you can get, and a little bitof darkness too," Monroe admits. The deceptively gorgeous ballad "Bombshell," for instance, isabout ripping off life's proverbial Band-Aids.

    "There's never a good time to tell somebody you don't love them anymore, or that you've beencheating, or for a kid to tell their parents that they're gay. There are a million differentbombshells," she says of the song, "and it's never easy. Of course, then you have to deal withthe outcome too. But first, you just have to make your mouth say the words."
    The lyricist takes the opposite approach to airing things out in the open with the ominous"Buried Your Love Alive," a spooky shuffle that throws dirt on an old flame. Written with MatracaBerg and thumping along with a heartbeat-like groove, it digs at the idea of "a memory you can'tkill" and how difficult it can be to suppress bad experiences. Especially in matters of the heart. "Ilove the concept of burying love, but having it still live inside you," Monroe says. "This song canreally rattle you."
    "The Weight of the Load," however, is all about reassurance — reassurance that you don't haveto go through hard times by yourself. It's an uplifting message, elevated by Monroe's lilting vocaldelivery and fine-tuned by Gill, who fleshed out the song almost five years ago. "I always havetitles written down in my phone, and I showed that one to Vince. We started writing it and hehelped me turn it into what it is," she says. "It's a comforting thing to hear, to know you're notalone."
    But it's the title song, a remarkably fresh and clever look at a relationship gone bad, that standsas the centerpiece of the album. Written by Marc Beeson, Allen Shamblin and Jamie Floyd, it'sthe sole track that Monroe didn't have a hand in. Nonetheless, she makes "The Blade" her own with an aching, career-defining performance, lingering over the payoff line: "You caught it by thehandle, and I caught it by the blade."

    "I never heard heartbreak put like that before, but we've all been on the receiving end of it," shesays of the song, which features friend and frequent touring partner Miranda Lambert onharmonies. Lambert also co-wrote the old-school "Good at Leavin'," just one of many acesongwriters Monroe collaborated with for the project. Chris Stapleton, Striking Matches' JustinDavis and Sarah Zimmermann, and power-pop singer-songwriter Brendon Benson alsocontributed tracks.
    In the end, however, this is Monroe's show and her 13 songs make for one razor-sharp album.Whether she's lamenting her sinner status in "The Devil Don't Want Me," laughing off bad luckin "Winning Streak" or accepting the fact that, yes, it's ok to be happy in "On to SomethingGood," the worldly singer-songwriter isn't afraid to explore all facets of life.
    As Monroe likes to say, "There are a lot of edges to The Blade."

  • Striking Matches

    Striking Matches

    Country Pop

    With their T Bone Burnett-produced debut album, guitar-wielding duo Striking Matches creates an unexpected and unique sound that defies easy categorization. The music of Striking Matches—Sarah Zimmermann and Justin Davis—occupies that sweet spot at the intersection of country, rock and blues, where all of the elements blend to form an authentically raw and rootsy sound that has a timeless and international appeal. Indeed, their songs including “When the Right One Comes Along” and “Hanging on a Lie” have been featured on ABC’s hit drama series Nashville and recorded by the show’s stars Sam Palladio and Clare Bowen, and attracted an international fan base. Their first performances in London produced sold-out shows and audiences with a deep knowledge of their lyrics, even before the release of their first full album. Their debut self-titled EP was named among iTunes “Best of 2012” and received national attention from outlets such as NPR, the BBC and The Wall Street Journal.

    “The Nashville TV show was definitely a big break for us,” Sarah says. “It was the first time we had any national or international attention. That opened the door to a lot of fans finding us here in the U.S., but even overseas when the show came out in the U.K.,” she says.

    Striking Matches is the debut artist on the newly revived label, I.R.S. Nashville, and has toured with Train, Vince Gill, Ashley Monroe and Hunter Hayes. “Our music is best left up to interpretation, but we hope it represents an amalgamation of everything that has influenced us over the course of our lives, which comes from rock and roll, country and blues, and we fall somewhere in between all of those,” Justin says. Although their debut album is a perfect fit in the landscape of today’s commercial music, it also stands out from the rest of the pack with its driving rhythms and simple yet artful production that’s designed to showcase the compelling harmonies, honest lyrics and innovative guitar playing. They had a hand in writing all 11 songs on the album, which captures the high energy and spontaneity of their popular live shows. Of course, that’s not surprising, given that both have built a musical foundation on guitar playing and gravitate toward guitar-driven music, such as The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, Steely Dan, Patsy Cline, Jerry Reed and Chet Atkins. Justin is known for his fast, intricate playing, while Sarah was influenced by the blues guitarists who strive to make every note count and last. “I have always found Sarah’s guitar playing interesting because it seems to complement mine,” he says.

    Both shared the same dream growing up, even though they came from different backgrounds and regions. Justin was raised in Atlanta by parents who work in the medical field. “While they didn’t play any music, they had really great taste in music and that helped set me on a path that I am forever grateful for,” says Justin, who was raised on music such as Sam Cooke, Petula Clark, Otis Redding, Ray Charles and Motown greats. He began writing songs at age 10 and has been playing guitar as long as he can remember. But he looked like a late bloomer compared to Sarah, who was raised outside of Philadelphia and began playing clarinet in second grade, violin in third grade and guitar in fourth. Her father was a musician who repaired woodwinds and other instruments in a downstairs studio, so she was immersed in music and was influenced by the Dixie Chicks. “They proved to me that a girl can play just like a guy can play,” she says. “They were my inspiration for being a lead guitar player.”

    Both decided to pursue their dreams of having a career in music by moving to Nashville. Their paths crossed when both decided to attend Belmont University in 2007 and major in guitar, so they attended the same guitar seminar class and were randomly paired together by their professor early in the semester.

    “It was a room full of guys and we were saying, ‘Well, as long as we don’t get the girl, we’ll be all right,” Justin recalls. “They called my name and Sarah’s. I thought, ‘Great. It’s all over now.’ I said, ‘Do you know any blues?’ She pulled out her slide and proceeded to leave everyone’s jaw on the floor, including mine. It was one of those ‘we should do that again’ moments.”
    And they did just that. They began performing songs by Nickel Creek, Alison Krauss and Keith Urban, which led to writing together, which resulted in their first public performances at places such as the Bluebird Cafe. While they continued to perform with others, they loved the music they made together most of all. “This was always where we were having the most fun,” he says. “It was the most fulfilling. It was a dynamic of complement that didn’t exist anywhere else.”

    Sarah won a scholarship to take a songwriting course at Vanderbilt University, and one of the guest speakers was veteran music executive John Grady. “He sat down, looked at me and said, ‘I know you,’” Sarah says. “The day before, someone had shown him a video we put on YouTube and he liked it. We started talking and got back together the next day. I think it was fate.”

    After discussions with several labels, they accepted the offer to be the first artists on I.R.S Nashville. “I don’t know that there is a cooler label that I would want to be a part of,” Justin says. “It has such a history and it feels right.”

    The duo was also thrilled when they heard that famed producer T Bone Burnett, who produced their favorite Grammy-winning album Raising Sand by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, wanted to work on their debut project. “The environment in the studio was all vibe,” Sarah says. “It was really relaxed. T Bone has a way of making you feel super important and everything you are doing is right, and if it is not, he will guide you to where it needs to be. He knows how to bring out the very best of us.”

    The best includes songs such as “Hanging on a Lie,” which they reinterpret with grit, a distorted mandolin and a mid-song jam session, as well as the organic and honest “Nothing But the Silence,” the guitar-centered “Trouble Is As Trouble Does” and “Make a Liar Out of Me” and groove-oriented “Never Gonna Love Again.” “We haven’t written our best song yet,” Justin says. “We are so proud and grateful for everything so far, especially this record, and the sky is the limit for us. Creatively, we started writing songs while we were in the studio and especially when we finished. There was no resting. We are still hungry.”
    Adds Sarah, “We have more to say and we want to be heard.”

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Ashley Monroe w. Striking Matches

Fri Apr 11 2025 8:00 PM

(Doors 7:00 PM)

SPACE Evanston IL
Ashley Monroe w. Striking Matches

$25.00 - $30.00 All Ages

Ashley Monroe is a Nashville based singer-songwriter known for her stunningly soulful voice and deeply personal lyrics. Born in Knoxville, TN, she fell in love with music at a young age. After losing her father to cancer when she was a teenager, she moved to Music City with her mother, pursuing a dream that would lead to both solo success and acclaim as a member of the supergroup Pistol Annies. Her songs—honest, raw, and reflective—have captured the hearts of fans and critics alike. In 2015, she received two GRAMMY nominations: one for her duet with Blake Shelton on the hit single "Lonely Tonight," nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance, and another for her sophomore album, The Blade, which was nominated for Best Country Album. Five years later, the Pistol Annies received their first GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album with Interstate Gospel. Never one to shy away from reinvention, Monroe’s recent work has ventured beyond her country roots, weaving together sounds from Americana to pop and proving her fearless approach to music. “I’ve always felt like the music I make doesn’t have to be just one genre. It’s all the stories, colors, feelings and sounds of who I am. Like a patchwork quilt of my soul.” After overcoming a rare blood cancer in 2021-22, she returns to the studio with renewed strength and passion, crafting her upcoming sixth album set for release in 2025

Please correct the information below.

Select ticket quantity.

Select Sections

AVAILABILITY: HIGH - LOW

Select Tickets

All Ages
limit 10 per person
GA Seated
$30.00
Standing Room Only
SRO
$25.00
ADA Seat
ADA
$25.00

Delivery Method

ticketFast