“Amazing Grace”: Ashley McBryde performs at Ryman Auditorium to honor COVID-19 victims

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ABC/Image Group LAAshley McBryde commemorated Easter Sunday with an emotional performance of “Amazing Grace” shot at the Ryman Auditorium. 

While careful to observe state and local guidelines, as well as the Ryman and Opry’s own rules, Ashley took to the revered Ryman stage to perform the hymn in honor of the lives lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Standing alone on the historic stage with the stained glass windows visible in the background, the singer delivered a poignant, yet powerful rendition of the song. She begins with a few gentle notes on guitar before singing a cappella. 

Ashley only manages to get through the first few notes before her voice breaks with emotion.  But she ultimately powers through, using that emotion to deliver a stirring rendition of the song, her voice echoing through the hallowed hall. 

Some things just can’t be healed. Some losses can’t be reconciled and some wounds will never heal,” Ashley says of the performance, revealing that it took seven tries to complete it. “Sometimes we don’t get closure the way we want to. All we can do is honor our predecessors and hope that we touch the hem of heaven sometime in our lives.” 

“The mother church pulls things like that out of you and will tell you what to sing and when to sing it…even if you can’t,” she concludes. 

Ashley released her sophomore album, Never Will, on April 3.

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