For anyone who observed the meteoric rise of Billy Strings over the better part of a decade, it always felt like he was the only one selling himself short. The shaggy-haired darling of Lansing, Michigan, took the live circuit by storm in the mid-2010s through an eclectic blend of finger-picking bluegrass spun into the thickest of weeds that would then morph into a quasi-jam whirlwind both in practice as well as in presentation. Strings and his crew are no joke from a performance perspective; their new label, Reprise Records, is taking advantage of this by pushing his first live record and a 38-minute, four-song medley in anticipation of this newest LP. For diehard fans, those live additions to the catalog were long overdue. They’re troubadours in the truest sense, playing a solid 200 tour dates with their signature Renewal festival plopped right in the middle.
The problem was never with how Strings presented himself, but more so in the marriage between these two seismic sounds, he was constantly trying to grapple with at once. On records prior, it constantly felt like Strings was bouncing between the two. Whatever secret sauce he used in ballrooms and cornfields across the country wasn’t translating with as much potency behind studio walls. On “Highway Prayers,” however, something is different. The recipe hasn’t been duplicated; it just feels like Strings has found a new one that’s just as tangy for listeners to latch onto. It’s a surefire hit for fans, whether high on the couch or pressed against a guard rail with thousands of others. Here, he found the sound that had felt like smoke for his whole career and finally caught it with his bare hands.
Commercial viability aside, it’s impressive that he’s tackled such a daunting task without risking integrity or personal progress. There are still plenty of Strings-isms to be found throughout. Whether he’s harmonizing his way to high-heaven on “Leaning on a Travelin’ Song” or putting the pedal to the metal on a raucous race-frenzy like “Leadfoot,” there’s still loads of personification going on that further solidifies the characters that Strings have spent the past decade cultivating.
“Characters” is plural here because it always feels like he’s in several different places simultaneously. Strings hop onto Deadhead caravans as a tagalong in “Gild the Lily” and runs from some sharp-shooting sheriff on a track like “Seven Weeks In County,” which almost reads like a gothic rendition of a Marty Robbins deep cut. There are still a lot of ideas converging under one sky, but here, Strings feels sure of himself. Paired with legendary and diversified Jon Brion producing, “Highway Prayers” feels more like a collage than a collection.
Sonic ideas flow in and out of one another, rarely intruding on their respective intimacies.
As a derivative of jam’s revered tie-dye ensembles that Strings seems to perceive himself, he still operates first and foremost like a bluegrass musician. He’s wielding multiple instruments (including a 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle) with pinpoint accuracy as he whizzes past the preconceived notions laid before him. His greatest muscle to flex has always been modernizing sounds that feel eternal, and this LP might be the epitome of that.
Strings are redefining home without the ones that made it such on “Cabin Song,” a foot-tapping triumph that feels like it’s already echoing through the hills it dreams of. Later, we delivered adages for a modern audience in “Catch and Release,”the story of a fishing frenzy with more than a few silver linings. As effortlessly as Strings pioneered his way through, he’s still incredibly observant of the sentiments of progress (wanted or unwanted) and lamentation that can and should follow the genre through every iteration. Aware of their importance before him, knowing they’ll be around long after he’s gone.
Philosophically, Strings seems well aware that the road ahead is long. How long he’ll remain on the course before diverting to an exit is up for question, though his pace and tempo, while he’s here, seem to be unwavering. The bulk of his debut under a major record label seems to have high hopes for what’s ahead while not being in too much of a hurry to get there. The 20 tracks that make up Highway Prayers all have their wheels pointed forward in one way or another. There are ebbs and flows through the mystified and grounded elements in the heart of the hills we’re pining after. However, Strings and his cutting-edge band seem determined to keep building their rapport even as they lay down the law as the new sheriffs in town. As any good racer knows, you never let off the gas, no matter how many laps ahead of the competition you are.
The record’s final track, “Richard Petty,” pays homage to one of the best trailblazers by knowing that the checkered flag eventually comes for everyone. “I know it won’t come easy, but believe me when I say “I’m gonna wake up and change my ways one of these days,” Strings and his band croon, giving the image of the quintet huddled around one microphone. This harmonious ending has been a staple of Strings’s live performances, exemplifying this record as the selector’s magnum opus. He and his crew have already won the race; whatever comes after for them is merely a victory lap.
