Ashton Shepherd Sets Summer Release for Next Album

Ashton Shepherd will release her second album, "Where Country Grows," on July 12.
 
"Look It Up," the album's debut single, is the first she recorded for the project and is currently sitting in the No. 21 spot on the Billboard Country chart.
 
The sophomore album is the highly anticipated follow up to her 2008 debut, "Sounds So Good," and really captures the essence of her singing and songwriting. Produced by Buddy Cannon, the album contains 10 songs, 8 of which Shepherd either wrote or co-wrote.
 
“I felt like I had a basic plan for this record,” she said. “You’ve got your first record behind you; you’ve learned some things. Your sophomore record – I heard from all these people – is supposed to be different. It’s supposed to be another factor and define you a little more. I’m thinking, ‘How am I going to do this?’”
 
One new approach was to spend time with several of Nashville’s prominent songwriters, including Dean Dillon, Dale Dodson, Bobby Pinson and Troy Jones, to see if these collaborations could inspire new sounds or themes.
 
“I was just a little scared of it, since I’d never co-written before,” said Shepherd. “Once I started, I really, really enjoyed it. I felt like we had plenty of songs to choose from. So the angle on this record was trying to define Ashton Shepherd in a different way, maybe dig just a little bit deeper and try and put some different kinds of songs on it."
 
The songs from "Where Country Grows" have already livened up country crowds. “This record is more tempo-heavy. The first record was very country with all the ballads,” she said. “It made it kind of hard to do live shows, because you had 11 songs and six of them were ballads. Now, we’ve got a good little handful of spunky songs that I think people will really like to sing along with and enjoy on this record.”
 
For Sheperd, forming a connection with her fans is the most important thing. “What inspired me to be a country artist was growing up listening to country music and seeing the impact that it has on people, seeing how it can change people’s lives,” said Leroy, Ala., resident. “It can put a smile on somebody’s face when they turn on the radio.
 
Along with the release of her album, Sheperd has been selected to sing the national anthem at the famous Aaron’s 499 Nascar Sprint Cup Series race in Talladega, Ala., on Sunday, April 17. The race as well as performance will be televised nationally on FOX.