Ava Liv Mabry Signs With Blue Highway Records, Sets “Audrey” as First Release
The 20-year-old Songwriters Hall of Fame scholarship recipient joins Blue Highway’s growing roster as the label looks toward its next generation of artist-songwriters.
Blue Highway Records is investing in its future with the signing of rising singer-songwriter Ava Liv Mabry, adding the 20-year-old artist to its roster ahead of her first release with the label, “Audrey,” arriving Friday, September 18.
For Mabry, the deal marks a significant next step in a career that has largely been built from the ground up. For Blue Highway, it brings aboard a young songwriter who has already begun generating attention across the songwriting community, streaming platforms and sync world.
Mabry started performing at just 13 years old, busking on the streets of her hometown of Franklin, Tennessee. Rather than waiting for the traditional industry machine to develop around her, she spent the following years writing much of her material independently, releasing music on her own and steadily developing the voice that ultimately caught the industry's attention.
“I started singing on the street in downtown Franklin when I was 13 years old, multiple times per week, with the goal of making just one person stop,” Mabry shared. “I’ve thought about those moments often during the process of signing with Blue Highway, especially when I heard the name was inspired by the backroads across America, and the paths less taken.”
She added, “Singing my songs on the street, sometimes even in the pouring rain, has been the ‘blue highway’ that brought me here. And now, this feels like the start of a new road for me.”
Songwriting Has Been at the Center From the Beginning
While Mabry is still at the beginning of her recording career, her songwriting résumé has already earned significant recognition.
In 2024, she became the youngest recipient of the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s Abe Olman Scholarship for Songwriting Excellence, joining a list of past recipients that includes Lori McKenna, Jordan Davis, Bebe Rexha, Madi Diaz, John Legend and Amy Allen.
She has also been building relationships within Nashville and the broader pop songwriting community, collaborating with writers including Dave Barnes, Mags Duval, Sam Tinnesz and Casey Smith.
That development has increasingly translated to the consumer side. Mabry's “Dreamboat” helped generate new digital momentum, while her music has landed on editorial playlists including Spotify’s Fresh Finds and Apple Music’s Breaking Singer-Songwriter. Her catalog has also secured multiple sync placements with Hallmark and Netflix.
Blue Highway Records CEO Jake Basden sees Mabry's songwriting perspective as central to what makes the signing particularly significant for the label.
“Ava’s voice represents the heart of the future,” Basden said. “Honest, hopeful and willing, she leans into small moments and delivers whole worlds where almost everyone has taken up residence.”
Basden continued, “I believe this is an important young voice who's destined to define the things that matter to her peers and generation.”
Blue Highway Begins the Next Chapter With “Audrey”
The label isn't waiting long to introduce the next phase of Mabry's career.
Her first Blue Highway Records release, “Audrey,” arrives September 18, providing the first look at how the company plans to build upon the foundation Mabry established independently.
Inspired by Audrey Hepburn, the track looks beyond the glamour surrounding one of Hollywood's most recognizable figures and considers the young woman underneath it all. Mabry approaches the icon with a songwriter's curiosity, wondering whether someone celebrated as America's darling ever longed for the freedom and simplicity of being young.
Sonically, the song pairs that perspective with bright, playful instrumentation and a shimmering melody,
continuing Mabry's ability to place intimate observations inside accessible pop-forward singer-songwriter production.
From Independent Artist to a Growing Live Draw
The signing also arrives as Mabry begins translating her online and songwriting momentum into the live space.
This summer, she sold out her first headline show at Nashville's Cannery Hall, another important benchmark for an artist still early in her development.
She's now expanding beyond Nashville as a support act for Jenna Raine and Jenna Davis, with upcoming stops across key markets including New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston and Atlanta.
Taken together, the Blue Highway deal represents more than a new label home. Mabry arrives with several pieces of the modern artist-development equation already in motion: an established songwriting identity, independent releases, editorial playlist support, sync placements, a growing collaborator network and early evidence of live demand.
Now, Blue Highway Records has the opportunity to scale it.
And with “Audrey” arriving just days after the signing announcement, the label is moving quickly to turn the deal into the beginning of Mabry's next era.
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