Born in 1994, in California, Missouri, Kassi Ashton grew up immersed in a blend of artistic and rural influences. Her mother introduced her to the world of dance, theatre, and beauty pageants, while her father exposed her to farm life and a passion for motorcycles. This diverse upbringing shaped her unique musical style, drawing inspiration from classic country icons like Reba McEntire and Loretta Lynn, as well as soulful powerhouses such as Amy Winehouse and Adele. Ashton pursued her passion for music at Belmont University’s School of Music in Nashville, where she honed her songwriting and performance skills.
In December 2017, Ashton signed a joint recording deal with UMG Nashville and Interscope Records, marking the beginning of her professional music career. Her debut single, ‘California, Missouri,' released in January 2018, served as a heartfelt ode to her hometown and garnered critical acclaim. She collaborated with Keith Urban on the track ‘Drop Top' from his 2018 album ‘Graffiti U' album and toured with Maren Morris in 2019.
Ashton’s subsequent releases, including ‘Dates in Pickup Trucks,' a superb cover of ‘Genie in a Bottle' and ‘Drive You Out of My Mind' showcased her dynamic range and storytelling prowess. The latter song features on her debut studio album, ‘Made from the Dirt,' which was released in September 2024. An eclectic and powerful listen, it encapsulates her journey and solidifies her place in the country music landscape and we were thrilled to catch up with her in London at the C2C festival to talk all about it.
Welcome back to England, Kassi, it's been a while. Have you got fond memories of your previous visits?
Thank you!! I have, for sure. It's great to be back here again. Yesterday I had a full open day so I went to Camden market – I met my tour manager, Jack, when I was over here in 2018 and so he knows what kind of stuff I like and he suggested going to Camden market. I love that Amy Winehouse vibe, leather and all that vibe they have there. I also went to the war museum – it was dark, not necessarily my number one choice but when you have boys in the band……… (laughing)
We then went to a proper pub and did a pub quiz!! I went to The Great Frog jewellers this morning and I bought a piece of jewellery there!
Congratulations on ‘Made From the Dirt.' It was in our top ten albums of 2024. Have you been pleased with the reception to it?
Yes. Yes! It was refreshing to finally be able to give a whole picture of myself instead of little tiny pieces of songs. Little bits of bullshit things that get sent out into the world and don't really say anything. An album allows you to present yourself in the way that you want and can control as an artist.
I think you are somebody who believes in the craft of the album. I can imagine you put a lot of time and effort into sequencing ‘Made From the Dirt'?
It was Post-It note chaos! I had some pillars that were non-negotiable. ‘The Straw' had to be on there, ‘Made From the Dirt' had to be on there I went into the studio with that title and I was, like, ‘Hey, if we crush this song, that's what the album is going to be called.'
‘Juanita' was a sneaky one because I had just written that for my Grandma and that one wasn't supposed to be on there! When we cut all the songs I had sub categories of all the production areas and each song had to fit into the descriptions – there was ‘Classic Country,' ‘Coyote Ugly,' ‘Rolling Stones' and ‘Fleetwood Mac' – they were the four sub sections!
I also wrote down the key that each song was in so that there was no jarring or weird rubs in the sequencing – I've done the same thing with the deluxe version that is coming out next month too! It's super important to listen to the last couple of notes of one song and the first couple of notes of the next one to make sure there is a flow.
When you look at the track listing of the deluxe album, ‘Juanita' is still the last song on there and you are slipping in the new, deluxe tracks around the existing ones.
That's how it should be! I had to ask if I could do that because most of the time when people release a deluxe version of an album they just group the new songs at the end. That's bullshit – you could have just put those songs out as a new EP, you didn't build the songs into the project. Such bullshit.
So I had to ask if I could slot the new ones in and it took a while for me to get the answer that I was wanting! (laughing) I wanted to give people a new way to hear the older songs by changing the transitions.
You've had a record deal for a bloody long time! You must have the patience of a saint….
Or the spite! (laughing)
…what roadblocks have you encountered in terms of your journey to releasing ‘Made From the Dirt'?
All of them! (laughing) A global pandemic. Label doors swinging. New heads of everything. Failed radio singles. New radio people. I feel like every barricade that an artist could have had put in front of them I've had to find a way to jump over, push through or go around!
If you don't think that you are the actual shit you shouldn't be doing this. It's hard to do what we do, it takes a lot of dedication, a lot of patience and a lot of spite! (laughing) If you don't have that fire inside you then you shouldn't be doing it.
In your lowest moments did you ever consider walking away?
No. Even in my lowest moments I never felt like it was me I didn't believe in. It was always the system, other people……whatever. Successful people pivot – right? I remind myself of that all the time. If you come across something or somebody that's trying to stop you you just have to figure out how to get around them.
The artist that released the super-cool but ‘off-the-wall' ‘Taxidermy' doesn't seem to be the same artist that released ‘Made From the Dirt.' Have you been through a big period of experimentation with your music to find out who you actually are?
I have experimented purposefully and not purposefully, if that makes sense? You sign a publishing deal, you sign a record deal and suddenly there are 20 people around you with opinions. ‘California, Missouri' was the first song I ever released and I would still put that on an album today. ‘Taxidermy' too – that song still has that funky, alt-vibe. I would probably re-do the production now and make it a little more organic but other than that, I'm good.
There were a few songs I put out over the years where I was experimenting or influenced by what I was listening to at the time. I had this kind of epiphany over COVID when I realised that I was making music that I didn't want to play for my favourite artists – If I'm obsessed with Eric Church, Chris Stapleton and Sturgill Simpson, do I have music that I'd want them to hear and If I don't……… what the fuck am I doing?
I made a Spotify playlist for my own reference that I called ‘Motorcycle Country' and I put everything in it that I really loved at my core. Not what was cool, not what was trendy and that re-focused who it was I wanted to write with going forward. I'm so glad I did that because it created the pathway for me towards this album.
It feels like, both figuratively and literally, that ‘The Straw' is the central point of this project. Tell me what it was like working with Lori McKenna and the impact of that song on you.
That's the oldest song on the album! We wrote it back in 2017! Talk about voices trying to tell you what to do…. bigger artists tried to cut that song, so many people tried to tell me I needed to put it out and I was always saving it for the album! I didn't know the album would take so long but I knew that I wanted it to be on there! (laughing)
I am obsessed with the song and it's a very powerful pillar of who I am. I was balling when we wrote it and I was lucky to have Lori and Luke (Laird) on it, two complete geniuses who are very close to me as people too.
I heard you play that song on the Bobby Bones show late last year and you moved the room to tears with it. Is it a difficult song to play, emotionally, or can you remove yourself from the impact of it when you sing it live?
I can distance myself from the emotional content of it now, it was a very long time ago for me. If I seem emotional when performing it it's because I'm trying to channel the emotion that I felt when we wrote it so that if there are people in the room who feel that way, I can help them process their emotions.
On the flip side of that – ‘Drive You Out of My Mind' could have been on a Rascal Flatts album.….
(laughing) Yeah, it could have I guess!! If they added more piano!
Do you prefer playing songs like ‘The Straw' live or more uptempo stuff like ‘Drive You Out of My Mind'?
You know what, it depends on the room. I love to play ‘Made From the Dirt' no matter what room I'm in though. The lyrics, to me, are the centre-point of who I am and I think it's important to show that to people. In big band shows I love to play ‘Til the Lights Go Out,' I love that song. It really, really smashes.
‘Son of a Gun' and ‘Juanita' are both very personal family songs to you. How does your family feel about featuring in your songs?
My dad thinks ‘Son of a Gun' is hilarious! he loves it! ‘Juanita' was a song I originally wrote for my grandma's funeral – it was not supposed to be cut. My family is very supportive of what I do and they know that everything I write comes from my heart and comes from a good place. ‘Juanita' was a way of ‘inking' my grandma into existence, if that makes sense, there's a permanent tribute to her out in existence now with that song.
You worked with some terrific writers on the album aside from Lori McKenna. Natalie Hemby, Rhett Akins – some classic names. Was there one person who you connected with more above anyone else?
Luke Laird, who co-produced the album with me, and Oscar Charles, who mixed it. They are my go-to guys. We wrote ‘Made From the Dirt' together. Together we are the perfect trio!
Aside from that I'd probably say Jason Nix and Natalie Hemby would be awesome songwriting partners too. Natalie and I get on like a house on fire, she reminds me of Stevie Nicks and myself, you know, rough-around-the-edges but kind and a great soul.
Would you say Stevie Nicks is your biggest influence or are there others at play too?
She's one of many. Any woman who is authentic and who has been through something she isn't afraid to sing about is also a hero or heroine to me. I like free spirits, I like people who take no shit and Stevie happens to fall into that category! I love traditional Country music at its core but when I lean away from that core I also go to the classic Rock sound.
My dad's favourite artist is Jamey Johnson and that kinda Outlaw sound. If you are a girl and have long hair when you try and channel that spirit you somehow end up sounding like Stevie Nicks! (laughing)
Are there less free spirits like yourself, Stevie Nicks and Natalie Hemby around these days? Are people more generic and less ‘don't give a shit' these days?
I don't think there are less free spirits around these days but I do think we are over-saturated with artists putting music out so it feels like there are less. Back in the day, let's say the 70s, if you wanted to be star and an artist you were probably fucking unique and strange and crazy enough to do it. It was harder to get your music out there and that takes a particular type of person and character – you couldn't just make TikToks in your bedroom and get a record deal, right? So I don't think there are less free spirits I just think the over saturation and who is getting signed and why makes it seem like there are less.
Your Instagram page makes me laugh because you just channel who you are. Where do you stand on TikTok and that whole social media hoopla?
It's rough. We went from real marketing ideas and real strategy to making videos on TikTok being the only way to get people's attention! It's hard as an artist to not feel like that everyone around you is now saying that TikTok is the most important thing you can do. No! I sing and my voice is an instrument. I also write songs, I am a craftsman by trade. I'm also travelling, I'm also doing all the interviews, the radio and I'm studying what my body looks like on stage, what I look like on a red carpet and now you're telling me that all that stuff gets prioritised below making fucking TikToks?
But again, I said earlier that successful people pivot, right? If this is what I have to do and you're telling me that the exposure on one TikTok video can be more than the exposure I would get on an awards show – how can I argue with those numbers? It doesn't make it any less painful, though! (laughing)
Check out the deluxe version of Kassi Ashton's fabulous ‘Made From the Dirt' album – ‘Made From the Dirt: The Blooms' which is available now for pre-save and pre-order here. It's out next month, April 25th.
