Gifted guitarist Billy Strings has announced a new album and this time the prolific six-string player is enlisting his father, Terry Barber, into the mix for a record they’ve called Me/And/Dad, which is set to drop on November 18.
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To celebrate the news, Strings has shared two new songs, “Long Journey Home” and “Life To Go,” which fans can check out below. The two have also shared some adorable family photos with the project.
The Grammy Award-winning Strings announced the new music Monday (October 3), which is also the musician’s 30th birthday. The new album is the first that he’s recorded with his father.
Of the new project, Strings says, “As long as I can remember, I wanted to make a record with my dad. I’ve been burning up and down the highways the last 12 years, and as time slips away, you start thinking, ‘I need to make time.’ It’s been a bucket list thing for me, something I’ve been afraid I wouldn’t find the time to do. And that scared me; not doing this record scared me.”
According to a press statement, the album is “the product of a longtime dream” and it “features new versions of fourteen bluegrass and country classics that the two have been playing together since Strings was a young child.”
The statement continues, “Produced by Strings and Gary Paczosa and recorded at Nashville’s Sound Emporium Studio, the record finds Strings and Barber playing with familiar ease, naturally trading off leads both vocally and on guitar. In addition to Strings and Barber, the album features an all-star band including bassist Mike Bub, mandolinist Ron McCoury, banjo player Rob McCoury and fiddler Michael Cleveland as well as special guest appearances by Jerry Douglas, Jason Carter and Strings’ mother, Debra Barber, who sings on the final track, ‘I Heard My Mother Weeping.’”
The new record follows Strings’ widely acclaimed LP, Renewal.
Check out the new singles, new family photos, tracklist for the upcoming LP, and Strings’ confirmed tour dates below.
ME/AND/DAD TRACK LIST
1. Long Journey Home (bluegrass traditional)
2. Life To Go (written by George Jones)
3. Way Downtown (written by Doc Watson)
4. Little Blossom (written by Hank Thompson)
5. Peartree (written by Arthel Lane “Doc” Watson, Gaither Carlton)
6. Stone Walls and Steel Bars (written by Ray Pennington, Roy Eugene Marcum)
7. Little White Church (written by Eugene Wellman)
8. Dig A Little Deeper (In The Well) (written by Jody Emerson, Roger Bowling)
9. Wandering Boy (written by A.P. Carter)
10. John Deere Tractor (written by Lawrence Hammond)
11. Frosty Morn (bluegrass traditional)
12. I Haven’t Seen Mary In Years (written by Damon Black)
13. Little Cabin Home On The Hill (written by Lester Flatt, Bill Monroe)
14. Heard My Mother Weeping (written by Carl Story, Lowell Blanchard)
BILLY STRINGS CONFIRMED TOUR DATES
October 6—Austin, TX—Stubb’s (SOLD OUT)
October 7-9—Austin, TX—Austin City Limits 2022
October 13—Austin, TX—Stubb’s (SOLD OUT)
October 14—Austin, TX—Austin City Limits 2022
October 15—Oklahoma City, OK—The Criterion (SOLD OUT)
October 29—Asheville, NC—ExporeAsheville.com Arena (SOLD OUT)
October 30—Asheville, NC— ExporeAsheville.com Arena (SOLD OUT)
October 31—Asheville, NC— ExporeAsheville.com Arena (SOLD OUT)
November 3—Kalamazoo, MI—Wings Event Center
November 4—Saginaw, MI—Dow Event Center
November 5—Pittsburgh, PA—Petersen Events Center
November 9—Rochester, NY—Blue Cross Arena
November 11—Uniondale, NY—Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
November 12—Philadelphia, PA—The Met (SOLD OUT)
November 13—Philadelphia, PA—The Met (SOLD OUT)
November 16—Richmond, VA—Virginia Credit Union LIVE! (SOLD OUT)
November 18—Washington, DC—The Anthem (SOLD OUT)
November 19—Washington, DC—The Anthem (SOLD OUT)
November 29—Oslo, Norway—Rockefeller Music Hall
November 30—Copenhagen, Denmark—Vega
December 1—Stockholm, Sweden—Slaktkyrkan (SOLD OUT)
December 3—Berlin, Germany—Columbia Theater (SOLD OUT)
December 4—Amsterdam, Netherlands—Melkweg (SOLD OUT)
December 5—Cologne, Germany—Die Kantine
December 7—London, UK—O2 Forum Kentish Town (SOLD OUT)
December 8—Manchester, UK—O2 Ritz Manchester
December 9—Dublin, Ireland—The Academy (SOLD OUT)
December 11—Glasgow, UK—Galvanizers Yard (SOLD OUT)
December 30—New Orleans, LA—Lakefront Arena
December 31—New Orleans, LA—Lakefront Arena (SOLD OUT)
February 2—Broomfield, CO—1STBANK Center (SOLD OUT)
February 3—Broomfield, CO—1STBANK Center (SOLD OUT)
February 4—Broomfield, CO—1STBANK Center (SOLD OUT)
Photos via Sacks Co.
