New Country trio Post Monroe announces release of debut EP

(Nashville, Tenn. May 13, 2016)
Sony ATV singer-songwriters Ashlee Hewitt and Shelby McLeod have joined forces with Given Entertainment’s Whitney Duncan to emerge as the latest country trio, Post Monroe with a self-titled debut EP to be released for digital download on May 13.  

Post Monroe (EP Cover Art)
Left to Right: Ashlee Hewitt, Whitney Duncan & Shelby McLeod

“We are so excited to get the first taste of our music out and available for everyone to hear,” said Duncan. “We have really been looking forward to this day for quite a while.” 

Hewitt added, “We truly feel like the chemistry we have found together in the writing room and in the studio is something very special; we feel so blessed.” 

The five-track EP produced by Chuck Ainlay and Dave Haywood of Lady Antebellum (with Aaron Chmielewski producing on “Lucky One”) was born out of the writing room and combines Post Monroe’s distinct harmonies and sweet mandolin melodies with southern attitude. 
“I have had such an amazing time being on the production side of the music-making process with Post Monroe,” said Haywood. “I truly believe that these girls are the real deal – from the writing room to the studio - they have a unique perspective and fresh sound that I can’t wait for people to hear.” 

The trio came to fruition as Hewitt and Duncan discovered McLeod’s voice after a co-writing session and decided she was the woman to complete the package. Individually, the ladies approach their craft from different perspectives that support the creative flare of their work. 
“We are strong women and we’re vulnerable,” said McLeod. “There are many sides to every woman and we like writing songs that speak from all those sides.” 

While drawing from unique backgrounds, Post Monroe blossomed from each member’s early passion for music. 

Hewitt, who came of age on a farm in Lancaster, Minn., has extensive experience in live performance playing 150 shows annually throughout her teenage years and was a former contestant on the sixth season ofNashville Star before relocating to Music City. 
A native Tennessean, Duncan, has been amongst Nashville’s elite songwriters since the age of 15. She was recognized on the Warner Music Nashville roster in 2008 with the release of her album Right Road Now featuring the popular “When I Said I Would” and “Skinny Dippin”. 

With a more traditional path, McLeod spent her childhood singing locally and participating in musical theater in her hometown of Madison, GA.. She earned a degree in communications from the University of Georgia before acquiring a position in the music industry where she initially got to know her bandmates. 

The first single from the project will be “Red Hot American Summer” and the video will soon follow the debut release. For more information, visit PostMonroe.com.

(13 May 2016) Post Monroe - Post Monroe - EP (KCH Entertainment)

5 Tracks/ Time: 16:54 Amazon UK - UK iTunes - Amazon.com

Post Monroe - Posted their EP on the UK Country Itunes Chart!

Post Monroe EP Track Listing: 
1. Half Hearted (Whitney Duncan, Ashlee Hewitt, Greg Becker) 
2. Lucky One (Whitney Duncan, Kelly Collins)
3. Red Hot American Summer (Whitney Duncan, Ashlee Hewitt, Shelby McLeod, Blair Daly)
4. Dixie Dust (Whitney Duncan, Ashlee Hewitt, Shelby McLeod, Dave Haywood, Dave Thompson)
5. Hell On Me (Whitney Duncan, Chris Tompkins) 

CONNECT with Post Monroe:

Sounds Like Nashville Review: Post Monroe EP by Chuck Dauphin (Hedley Entertainment as Sr. Publicist. He is a 25-year industry veteran with radio and publication experience. He was presented with the 2014 CMA Media Achievement Award by the CMA) ..A trio that manages to be contemporary in their approach yet still retain a traditional flavor, Post Monroe hits the mark immediately with the infectious “Half Hearted,” which sets itself apart with their tight and breezy harmonies. It’s definitely a song that will make you want to roll down the window and sing along loudly. That sound grows from track to track, hitting its’ peak with the fun “Red Hot American Summer.” Designated as the set’s first single, the song should have no problem catching on with radio stations across the country. It’s sweet. It’s seductive. And, it’s a great deal of fun, with each of the ladies taking their turn in the lead spotlight.

But, the ladies can slow down the tempo and score with a heartfelt ballad, as well. “Hell On Me” is a great example of this, with Duncan taking lead with a flawless performance….Rounding the album out is the nostalgic “Dixie Dust,” which gives each of the members a chance to think about their hometowns (Duncan – Scotts Hill, TN / Hewitt – Lancaster, MN / McLeod – Madison, GA) and the role that they have played in their individual lives – which given the quality of this EP, is going to be getting a lot busier!

About Post Monroe

Members: Ashlee Hewitt • Whitney Duncan • Shelby McLeod

Genre: Country | Home Town: Nashville

Ashlee Hewitt, Whitney Duncan and Shelby McLeod meld their distinct voices, backgrounds and life experiences together to create Post Monroe. “Our sound is our voices,” Ashlee explains. “They’re different. They’re unique. The blend of them together makes Post Monroe what it is.”

The trio’s harmonies are paired with acoustic-driven, catchy melodies to create the music they each grew up idolizing. “We’re country, that’s what I love,” Whitney adds. “We’re not pop country, we’re not trying to be a crossover group. It’s back to our roots.”

The songs themselves are extremely important to the songwriting threesome. “Most the time when we’re writing it’s like a therapy session, where someone shares something that’s happened to them and it’s like, ‘Well, that’s the hook!'” Ashlee says. “We are strong women and we’re vulnerable,” Shelby adds. “There are many sides to every woman. We like writing songs that speak from all those sides.”

Each member can approach a song or idea from a different perspective. Ashlee is married with a three-year-old son, Tuff, while Whitney is newlywed and Shelby, the youngest, is still living the single life. “We’re all in different places but also similar at the same time,” Whitney explains.

Ashlee grew up on a farm in Lancaster, Minn. — “way up by Canada” — and started singing at the age of three. Between the ages of 13 and 18, she played nearly 150 shows a year across Minnesota and North Dakota. “I knew I wanted to do music so I just packed up and came to Nashville,” she recalls of the move she made at 18.

Whitney is a native of Scotts Hill, Tenn., and grew up visiting Nashville. She played the fairs and festivals circuit as well and began coming to Nashville at the age of 15 to write with the city’s elite songwriters. “I’d skip school and my dad would bring me to Nashville and then turn around and go to work,” Whitney remembers. “It was a two-hour drive and he’d drive again to get me after work.” Like Ashlee, Whitney pursued a career as a female solo artist before realizing their dream to start a band.

Shelby was raised in Madison, Ga., and spent her childhood singing and doing musical theatre. While she hoped to move to Nashville after high school, her father — who she admits is her “hero” — insisted she go to college. Four years later, after graduating with a degree in communications, Shelby moved to Music City and within two months she landed a job working for Reba McEntire’s Starstruck Entertainment. “I wanted to get a job in the industry to learn and go in the back door like everybody does,” Shelby admits. “Oh, I’ll slip through and someone will love me. I learned so much and I loved working there.”

But her plan worked. It was that job that brought Shelby to her future bandmates. Whitney and Ashlee had met through a mutual friend and discovered their mutual love for songwriting and desire to start a trio. “I met Shelby at Starstruck and I didn’t know she could sing, I just thought she was gorgeous,” Whitney recalls. “Then a friend told me she could sing and we brought her in for a meeting and all sang together … it was magic.” “When we got the first demo back, everyone was in awe,” Ashlee adds.

The trio adopted a name that Ashlee had been holding on to for quite a while. “I was living in L.A. in 2008 and I heard someone describe a fashion style as Post Monroe … after Marilyn Monroe,” she explains. “Immediately, I was like that sounds like a band name! I went and got all the social media and websites and everything and blocked them.”

“I love Marilyn Monroe and her timeless beauty but I think it’s nice to leave it open for interpretation, too,” Whitney says. “In country music, we have Bill Monroe. There are some great Monroes.”

“We’ll be whatever Monroe you want it to be,” Shelby jokes. “We are so many things and Marilyn was so many things. It really represents our depth as individuals, as women.”

A photo posted by P O S T M O N R O E (@postmonroeband) on Apr 19, 2016 at 5:51pm PDT