Award-winning bluegrass artist Dale Ann Bradley spoke about her latest single “Mary’s Rock” and her forthcoming studio album.
‘Mary’s Rock’ single
On her new single “Mary’s Rock,” Bradley remarked, “It has been out for a month now and it has been getting great reviews. I hope it will continue to do well!”
“We are putting the finishing touches on my new album even though we’ve had a lot of sicknesses going on during that album-making process,” she noted. “The new album will be released via Pinecastle Records in early 2026.”
“Mary’s Rock” is a story song about a young woman whose fate was sealed by scheming men.
“A song pitcher had sent this song to me,” Bradley said. “I was just knocked out by the story, and I wanted to do it because it is definitely historical, and I think it’s a true song from South Appalachia. I felt it just needed to be told because it was so well-written.”
“Also, I certainly wanted to put ‘Mary’s Rock’ on this upcoming album,” Bradley added.
IBMA Awards
Most surprising about Bradley is the fact that she did not earn a 2025 IBMA nomination for “Female Vocalist of the Year,” an award she has won six times in her career, and nomination-wise, Bradley has been a perennial “Female Vocalist” bluegrass nominee and contender for over 20 years now.
“These days, there are so many wonderful new ladies coming up,” Bradley said. “I am so proud of them all, and we need all the new artists that are doing bluegrass music and putting their own twist to it.”
“I’m just happy that bluegrass music is doing so much. I want it to always thrive no matter who is in there,” she said. “There are so many young, deserving ladies coming up and I am so proud of them all.”
“I just love bluegrass music. It is wonderful and it’s the purest form of music that we have,” she added.
Future plans
On her future plans, Bradley shared, “Well, to get this album out, and to just keep meeting people, and keep doing all that I can. Hopefully, the new album will be out in the first quarter of the New Year.”
“I’m producing some things and doing workshops, and I am in a good place,” she added.
Collaborating with Russell Moore
Bradley recalled collaborating with Russell Moore, who is a six-time winner of the IBMA “Male Vocalist of the Year” Award (the most wins in IBMA history) and the “Vocal Group of the Year” winner for his band Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out.
“Russell and I did a duet on ‘East Kentucky Morning,’ my first solo album for Pinecastle Records, and then I sang some harmony with him on Rick Lang’s ‘Look to the Light’ and then we did two or three other ones on that album,” she said.
“Russell is an incredible singer, and I’m very proud and glad that the opportunity came his way to tour with Alison Krauss & Union Station,” Bradley said.
Hopefully, this is a harbinger that there will be more collaborations to come between Bradley and Moore in the future.
Bradley on her New Year’s resolutions
On her New Year’s resolutions for 2026, Bradley said, “To just keep moving forward! That is about all that we can do!”
Stage of her life
On the title of the current chapter of her life, Bradley revealed, “I am looking more into the writing and creating of our beautiful music and just being a part of it in every way that I can.”
Success
Regarding her definition of the word success, Bradley said, “Success means that you are happy, and that you have people that love you, and that you love people in return; that’s success!”
Message for the fans
For her loyal fans, Bradley expressed, “I hope that they like the new music, and I’ve put a lot of thought, and everybody put their hearts into it, and I hope that they find something that they relate to and enjoy.”
“As always, I hope that the new music helps them in some way,” she concluded.
To learn more about Dale Ann Bradley, visit her official website, and follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
