Billy Strings stays busy. Despite suffering a broken leg in April while skateboarding on tour, the bluegrass superstar still has a bunch of shows coming up this summer and fall, including his own hometown music festival Ionia Freak Fair, which boasts a metal stage alongside all the twangy, rootsy, jammy stuff. The fest is going down Aug. 28-29 in Ionia, Michigan, and now we know it will coincide with the release of a new Billy Strings album.
So Much For Goodbyes, the follow-up to 2024’s Highway Prayers, is indeed out the last Friday in August. Whereas the last one was produced by Jon Brion, this time Strings co-produced with T Bone Burnett. The cover art is by Strings’ late mother, Debra Apostol, to whom the album is dedicated:
I made this record to honor my mother. To notice and embrace this very significant period of grief in my life and make art from it. To turn my heartbreak into songs while using my guitar as a coping mechanism as I always have. It’s always been there for me to lean on through the hard times, and I figure it always will…until it’s my time to say goodbye.
Strings wrote lead single “Burn The Other End” with Paul Hoffman. It’s a gloomy yet invigorating minor-key ramble that does a lot to connect the dots between bluegrass and metal. Watch the video below.
TRACKLIST:
01 “I’m One Of Those”
02 “Burn The Other End”
03 “Carry Us Home”
04 “Lay Me Down”
05 “Lucid Daydream”
06 “Mill Town Flood”
07 “Live To Tell”
08 “Bluewater Breakdown”
09 “Light The Wall”
10 “I Like Train Songs”
11 “10,000 Miles From A Friend”
12 “Still I Crash”
13 “I Wish I Wanted To”
14 “Remember To Cry”
15 “Wrestling An Angel”
16 “Debra’s Waltz”
TOUR DATES:
07/02 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits at the Moody Theater
07/04 – Austin, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater (Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic)
07/14 – Roanoke, VA @ Berglund Center (SOLD OUT)
07/17 – Portsmouth, VA @ Portsmouth Pavilion (SOLD OUT)
07/18 – Portsmouth, VA @ Portsmouth Pavilion (SOLD OUT)
07/21 – Boston, MA @ Agganis Arena (SOLD OUT)
07/22 – Boston, MA @ Agganis Arena (SOLD OUT)
07/24 – Portland, ME @ Cross Insurance Arena (SOLD OUT)
07/25 – Portland, ME @ Cross Insurance Arena (SOLD OUT)
07/28 – Hartford, CT @ PeoplesBank Arena (SOLD OUT)
07/31 – Bethel, NY @ Bethel Woods Center for the Arts (SOLD OUT)
08/01 – Bethel, NY @ Bethel Woods Center for the Arts (SOLD OUT)
08/04 – Charleston, WV @ Charleston Coliseum (SOLD OUT)
08/06 – Fishers, IN @ Fishers Event Center (SOLD OUT)
08/07 – Fishers, IN @ Fishers Event Center (SOLD OUT)
08/08 – Fishers, IN @ Fishers Event Center (SOLD OUT)
08/28 – Ionia, MI @ Ionia Freak Fair (SOLD OUT)
08/29 – Ionia, MI @ Ionia Freak Fair (SOLD OUT)
09/18 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena (SOLD OUT)
09/19 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena (SOLD OUT)
09/20 – Denver, CO @ Paramount Theatre† (SOLD OUT)
09/25 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Orpheum Theatre† (SOLD OUT)
09/26 – Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum
09/28 – San Diego, CA @ Pechanga Arena
10/02 – Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
10/03 – Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
10/06 – Eugene, OR @ Matthew Knight Arena
10/09 – Everett, WA @ Angel of the Winds Arena
10/10 – Everett, WA @ Angel of the Winds Arena
10/23 – Huntsville, AL @ The Orion Amphitheater (SOLD OUT)
10/24 – Huntsville, AL @ The Orion Amphitheater (SOLD OUT)
10/30 – Baltimore, MD @ CFG Bank Arena (SOLD OUT)
10/31 – Baltimore, MD @ CFG Bank Arena (SOLD OUT)
12/04 – New Orleans, LA @ Saenger Theatre† (SOLD OUT)
12/05 – New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center
12/09 – Sugar Land, TX @ Smart Financial Centre
12/11 – Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena
So Much For Goodbyes is out 8/28 on Reprise. Pre-order it here.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source stereogum.com ’
