Billy Strings, raised in Michigan and now based in Nashville, is one of today’s most compelling artists, blending bluegrass with modern influences. Known for his electrifying live performances, his recent ‘Billy Strings Live Vol. 1' debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Bluegrass Albums chart, showcasing fan favourites recorded at iconic venues worldwide. His latest album, ‘Me/And/Dad' (2022), a collaboration with his father Terry Barber, earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Bluegrass Album. Since his 2017 debut, Strings has won multiple awards, including a GRAMMY for Best Bluegrass Album, Americana Music’s Artist of the Year (2022, 2023), and Entertainer of the Year at the International Bluegrass Music Awards (2021–2023).
Billy Strings' new album ‘Highway Prayers' is released today, September 27, via Reprise Records. Produced by Strings alongside renowned producer Jon Brion (known for his work with Fiona Apple, Mac Miller, and Aimee Mann), the album showcases 20 original songs that highlight Strings' unique blend of bluegrass and modern influences. The record includes the previously released tracks ‘Stratosphere Blues / I Believe In You' and ‘Leadfoot,' with American Songwriter praising Strings as “one of, if not the most, imaginative artists currently playing the game.” Recorded between Los Angeles and Nashville, ‘Highway Prayers' features Strings’ longtime band and is a typically dynamic and boundary-pushing collection of songs.
‘Highway Prayers' is an adventurous and genre-blurring album that stretches the boundaries of bluegrass while staying true to its roots. The album kicks off with the infectious gospel harmonies of ‘Leaning on a Travelling Song,' a joyful opener that sets the tone for this expansive journey. Strings moves effortlessly between moods and styles—songs like ‘In the Clear' showcase his introspective lyricism on mental health, while darker tracks like ‘Seven Weeks in County' offer cinematic, western-tinged storytelling. Here Strings sings about having to go to jail for seven weeks. He feels like a man on the run who isn’t scared to be behind bars because that might well be a safer place to be! It's a classic Country trope in which Strings declares, “My only enemy is out to get me, to make me pay for what I've done.’” Think the Bonanza TV show after a bluegrass makeover and you might well be in the right ballpark!
The instrumentals, such as ‘Escanaba' and ‘Seney Stretch,' highlight the mastery of his band, with furious banjo runs and intricate fiddle work creating mesmerising musical landscapes. Perhaps the best of the instrumentals is ‘Malfunction Junction.' A light, breezy banjo driven opening sees the song segue into something more uptempo as the pace gradually increases. It builds to a mid song song climax before a time change: the fiddles come in and it turns into a Gaelic style romp that leaves you with a big smile on your face and an urge to get up and dance.
On the very high concept ‘Stratosphere Blues / I Believe in You,' Strings takes bluegrass to new heights with complex arrangements reminiscent of prog rock behemoths Dream Theater, while tracks like ‘Cabin Song' and ‘Don’t be Calling Me (at 4am)' offer more traditional, upbeat bluegrass tunes that balance the album’s weightier moments. The former sees Strings yearning to go back to the woods after a break up. It's a simple, traditional bluegrass song executed with precision, passion and skill whilst ‘Don't Be Calling Me' is a lighter, commercial song with echoes of an artist like Zac Brown to it. It's still bursting with bluegrass elements but the fiddles drive the song alongside the guitars in the same way that the Zach Brown Band does. It would be a great single or song to send to radio. Elsewhere, the humour of ‘Catch and Release,' a spoken-word song where Strings recounts an encounter with the police while fishing, shows his versatility as a songwriter who can blend wit and musicianship.
The album’s more experimental moments, like the percussive, weed-inspired ‘MORBUD4ME' prove Strings is unafraid to push creative boundaries on a track where the percussive bed is built around cigarette lighter clicks, bong bubbles and a cough! Similarly, ‘Leadfoot' is a song based on engine noises and furious banjo. As it romps along Strings’ vocals and style mirror the speed of the music until the whole thing ends in a car crash climax and a distorted guitar to mirror that crash.
As ‘Highway Prayers' winds down, the thoughtful yet uplifting ‘The Beginning of the End' serves as a perfect farewell to both this album and Strings' live show before closing with the short but poignant ‘Richard Petty,' a gospel-like a cappella track filled with multi-layered harmonies that soars with a final third modulation.
With ‘Highway Prayers', Strings delivers an eclectic, virtuosic album that demonstrates his growth as an artist while solidifying his place at the forefront of modern bluegrass. The fact that he can play old fashioned, traditional Bluegrass whilst pushing the boundaries of the genre and melding it with Country, Rock, Folk and Pop means Billy Strings is at the very cutting edge of this genre and is pushing what is essentially a nostalgic and very rigid genre into a bright, new creative future.
Tracklist: 1. Leaning on a Travelin' Song 2. In the Clear 3. Escanaba 4. Gild the Lily 5. Seven Weeks In County 6. Stratosphere Blues / I Believe in You 7. Cabin Song 8. Don't Be Calling Me (at 4AM) 9. Malfunction Junction 10. Catch and Release 11. Be Your Man 12. Gone a Long Time 13. It Ain't Before 14. My Alice 15. Seney Stretch 16. MORBUD4ME 17. Leadfoot 18. Happy Hollow 19. The Beginning of the End 20. Richard Petty Record Label: Reprise Records Release Date: 27th September Buy ‘Highway Prayers' right here
This article contains an affiliate link. Purchases through this link may result in us earning a commission.
