Tommy Ash
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“Dim lights, thick smoke and loud music is the only life she’ll ever understand” … Country music singer/songwriter Tommy Ash, got her first job at age 13 joining a band playing every Friday and Saturday night at a little honky tonk in Arizona. By age 14, she went on to open shows for country music legends John Conlee and Tracy Lawrence, as well doing shows in popular local Arizona country music barrooms such as Mr Lucky’s.
Born and raised in Phoenix, AZ and currently living in Nashville, TN, Tommy Ash’s music has been described by the Phoenix New Times as “hard edged honky-tonk”. Being heavily influenced by West coast country music and the Bakersfield sound, Tommy opened for the legendary Merle Haggard in 2015, and played shows on the road with the honky-tonk man Dwight Yoakam in 2018. She also shared the stage with Tanya Tucker, Chris Young, Lorrie Morgan, Turnpike Troubadours, Pam Tillis, Tracy Lawrence, Ryan Bingham and many more.
In September 2013, Tommy Ash released her first album Sinner’s Blood (available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Pandora, etc). “It’s a quick jab of a record, stacking slapback rockabilly riffs over propulsive shuffles. The title track isn’t far removed from the cowpunk of the Blasters or X; “Sugar in a Bottle” evokes a Sun Records stomp; “When I’m Gone” is a sweet sashay featuring revved up vocals from Ash. “Friend” is a brassy ballad, with Ash employing an ace falsetto over languid pedal steel swells and “Yodelin’ Blues” evokes an imagined spaghetti western directed by David Lynch. Ash yodels, and it’s chilling” writes music journalist Jason P. Woodbury.
In their Spring 2016 Print edition, the Roots Music publication No Depression mentioned that “even as the pop- and alt-country worlds continue to drift apart, artists like Tommy Ash continue to buck the trends. The singer is in good company among Margo Price, Nikki Lane, etc. They’re a new wave of women in outlaw country not seen since the likes of Jesse Colter and Loretta Lynn”.
In December 2017, Rolling Stone Country named Tommy Ash one of their “10 New Country Artists You Need to Know”, describing her sound as “Country shuffles, train beats and honky-tonk heartbreak, all delivered by a magnetic entertainer who’s been serenading barflies since the age of 13. For Fans of Dwight Yoakam’s influence, Waylon Jennings’ guitar tone, Margo Price’s perspective”. According to Wide Open Country, Tommy Ash’s music sounds like “Dwight Yoakam dueting with Wanda Jackson in a Bakersfield Bar” and included her in their “10 new Country Artists to Watch in 2018”,
Tommy Ash is currently nominated for a 2019 Ameripolitan Award in the Honky Tonk Female category.
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