Back in June I was blown away by Billy Strings’ performance at a stadium-scale country music festival in Ohio. Today the bluegrass superstar is announcing his behemoth new album.
Strings co-produced Highway Prayers, out in September, with the legendary Jon Brion. The album comprises 20 songs, and it features his longtime band — Billy Failing (banjo, vocals), Royal Masat (bass, vocals), Jarrod Walker (mandolin, vocals) and Alex Hargraves (fiddle) — as well as contributions from Brion (bass, drums, percussion), Matt Chamberlain (drums), Jerry Douglas (dobro), Jason Carter (fiddle), Lindsay Lou (backing vocals), Nathaniel Smith (cello), Taneka Samone (backing vocals), Cory Henry (piano), Peter “Madcat” Ruth (harmonica, jaw harp) and Victor Furtado (clawhammer banjo).
On lead single “Leadfoot,” however, Strings plays everything except the drums. Those are handled by Chamberlain, the veteran session drummer who’s played with just about everyone. The song arrives with a video directed by Ryen McPherson, which you can watch below.
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”
Highway Prayers is out 9/27 via Reprise. Pre-order it here.
