Okay, y’all, if you’ve ever sat in a wooden pew wondering why the Sunday sermon felt more like a Southern horror movie than a hug from the Lord, Ashley McBryde’s new music video is about to feel real familiar.
The GRAMMY, ACM, and CMA Award-winning powerhouse just released the official music video for “Rattlesnake Preacher,” and let me tell you—it’s four and a half minutes of goosebump-inducing, gospel-infused truth bombs.
Loosely inspired by her childhood in rural Arkansas, where her dad wore the hats of small-town doctor, guest preacher, and part-time fire-and-brimstone dispenser, Ashley’s storytelling takes us from a trauma support group straight into the one-room church of her memory. And if you were raised in the Bible Belt like me, it’s going to hit you right in the stained glass.
The video doesn’t hold back. McBryde’s powerhouse vocals are paired with snapshots of religious fervor, generational tension, and the kind of soul-searching that comes from being raised in equal parts praise and punishment. And her line “Yes, Jesus loves me” cuts like a question, not a confirmation—exactly the kind of emotional grit she’s become known for.
“There’s so much wrapped up in those lyrics that you might miss if you didn’t know the woman singing it,” McBryde says. “To be raised to live in fear of the creator but also taught to seek your comfort from him…that’s pretty confusing as a kid.”
This isn’t just a song—it’s a sermon of its own. One she’s been perfecting on stage for nearly a decade, and fans have been begging for a studio version since day one.
The video, shot in Nashville and directed by Tyler Shoemaker, even includes a cameo from her Warner Music Nashville labelmates, The Band Loula. Keep your eyes peeled.
Oh—and in true Ashley fashion, she’s following this release with something only she could dream up: The Redemption Residency, a sold-out run inside Eric Church’s brand-new Lower Broadway honky-tonk, Chief’s. If you scored a ticket, count yourself lucky. She’s opening the bar’s fifth-floor dive, Redemption Bar, this Thursday (August 28). We expect whiskey, sin, and salvation in equal parts.
Watch “Rattlesnake Preacher” now and tell me—was your childhood this complicated?