Ashley McBryde Recalls Her Biggest Starstruck Moment: ‘I Honked Like a Goose’ (Exclusive)

Ashley McBryde has lost track of all the singers and celebrities she’s met over the years, but she still remembers her star-studded moment, which involved Reba McEntire at the 2019 Academy of Country Music Awards. and she came right up to my face and said into the microphone, ‘Hi, Ashley McBryde, this is Reba McEntire, and I’m your biggest fan,'” the singer said “Ain’t Enough Cowboy Songs,” 41, for PEOPLE.

“I just literally honked at her like a goose,” the star added, noting that she actually said “Hi” nervously.

Ashley McBryde, Reba McEntire.

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While that moment of meeting McEntire, 69, lives on in her mind, McBryde said she also doesn’t know how she would hold back when she met Emmylou Harris, so she apparently avoided the music icon for years. “If we were in the same building, I would have walked in the opposite direction from her, because I knew I would have done something stupid,” McBryde explained. Last year, however, McBryde actually played a benefit show in New York with Harris, 77, and realized her fears were unfounded. “I said, ‘I can’t talk to her,’ and [Harris] he just walked up to me and said, ‘Hey, come to my dressing room. I wanted to talk to you,’ McBryde recalled. “I thought, well, there it is. I’m going to say something stupid. But I have to have a nice chat with Emmylou Harris. I surprised myself.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up to date with the best PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to interesting human interest stories. Still, McBryde told PEOPLE that there have been other instances when she has said “stupid things” to others she admires. “I said stupid things to Patty Loveless. I said stupid things to Morgan Stapleton. I almost said stupid things to him [World Champion roper] Jackie Crawford,” she said, referring to an event she and Crawford held at the Ariat Las Vegas store at 63 CityCenter on Thursday, Dec. 12, during the National Finals Rodeo.

“When I look at her, I look at the best on the planet, and no matter what job you’re watching, what event or sport, you seem to feel so tiny and so seen at the same time. I watch and talk to the best on the planet about what she’s doing and what they’re doing,” McBryde added. She continued, “Now that I’m sober, I know it’s okay to feel uncomfortable about it in real time. ”

Ashley McBryde in September 2023.

Cindy Ord/Getty Images

Ashley McBryde to celebrate 900th day of sobriety on Thanksgiving: ‘Holidays are built in’ (Exclusive)

Last month, the country singer celebrated 900 days of sobriety, a milestone she’s extremely proud of.

“I lost so much confidence without even realizing it was completely gone,” McBryde told PEOPLE of her drinking days. “My favorite thing about the last 915 days is that when I tell you something, you can believe it because I can believe it. I had no idea, which is one of the most cowboy lessons I’ve ever learned, that the reason you can trust that guy or that girl is because they trust themselves.”

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Source: HIS Education