Ashley Best - Singer/Songwriter/Lead Vocalist/Acoustic Guitar

Ashley Best, son of a Coalminer, the last of 4 children and raised on the top of a hill above the very small town of Little York in Ohio. He was raised there until the Age of 14, where he enjoyed fishing in strip ponds surrounding the region and watching local farmers farm the land. He grew up listening to the Country radio station that his mother played while cooking, baking and washing dishes. At Age 14 he moved with his family to Cadiz, Ohio, onto what would become their family farm. His father's vision for the family was to build a Dairy farm out of abandoned, forgotten land. While building their house, Ashley listened to the radio, falling in love with the sounds of Dwight Yoakam, Marty Stuart, and Travis Tritt. It didn't take long for Ashley to realize that's what he wanted....HIS voice coming from a radio.

When Ashley was growing up, he listened to his Grandpap Howell (who died when Ashley was 4 yrs. old) singing on a reel-to-reel recorder. But once he heard Dwight Yoakam & Buck Owens perform "Streets of Bakersfield", he started researching the "Bakersfield" sound. Ashley had a desire to take the "Bakersfield" sound and twist it with "Rockabilly" and natural "Hillbilly" twang. 

Ashley started crafting his writing ability at Age 16. At Age 28, Ashley became a widow after the sudden death of his 1st wife. Ashley then found  at that time that writing came easier and was almost therapeutic. He was the father of 2 young daughters, ( a 10 yr. old and a 9 month old baby), so it didn't take long for Ashley to start feeling the pressure/reality of life without his wife and found some relief through writing. He admits that when writing the song, " Nothing Ever Seems To Do".....while sitting on the porch listening to the wind blow through the trees, hung over from the night before, and feeling like no matter what nothing was ever gonna work out.....that the wind and trees whistled a tune to him and from those sounds the song was written in a matter of minutes. Ashley started performing the songs he was writing in local Honky Tonks up & down the Ohio River Valley. Soon, alcohol took over and took control. Ashley laid down his guitar and let his dream of music go.

In 2010 he remarried and went home to his family farm where he and his new bride started milking cows. They had 2 sons together. The crash of the milking industry in 2014 led to Ashley and his wife having to sell out the Dairy herd.

Old habits die hard.....before you knew it Ashley picked up his guitar and started writing and performing again.....only this time he was sober! Ashley started recording "I Believe" in the Spring of 2018, releasing it in August of that year.

Where the story ends for Ashley Best and his musical dreams remains unknown. One thing he learned from his father is this....nothing is impossible as long as you keep working at it....and....I BELIEVE....so my story continues...………...