Sophia Michaels
Billy Strings will go back to where it all began with his new album Me/And/Dad, a collaborative project between the young bluegrass star and his father, Terry Barber. The new project featuring country and bluegrass classics will be released Nov. 18 and includes two songs that were released today: “Long Journey Home” and “Life to Go.”
The traditional tune “Long Journey Home” shows off Strings’ lightning-fast picking as well as the harmonizing between him and Barber, who also plays guitar on the track. “Life to Go” is an acoustic take on the George Jones tune, with Barber singing the lead. Other musicians on the album, which was produced by Gary Paczosa, include Mike Bub, Ron McCoury, Rob McCoury, Michael Cleveland, Jerry Douglas, Jason Carter, and Strings’ mother, Debra Barber.
Though not Strings’ biological father, the performer credits Barber with raising him and getting him interested in music.
“Terry raised me and taught me how to wipe my ass, tie my shoes, and play guitar. That’s my fucking dad,” he told Rolling Stone earlier this year.
Elsewhere on Me/And/Dad, Strings and Barber take on Doc Watson’s “Way Downtown,” Hank Thompson’s “Little Blossom,” and “Stone Walls and Steel Bars,” which was recorded by the Stanley Brothers. The project follows Strings’ 2021 album Renewal and 2022 appearance at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and ACL Fest. Last week, he was named Entertainer of the Year at the 2022 Bluegrass Awards, his second consecutive win in the category.
Me/And/Dad track list:
- “Long Journey Home” (traditional)
- “Life to Go” (written by George Jones)
- “Way Downtown” (written by Doc Watson)
- “Little Blossom” (written by Hank Thompson)
- “Peartree” (written by Doc Watson, Gaither Carlton)
“Stone Walls and Steel Bars” (written by Ray Pennington, Roy Eugene Marcum) - “Little White Church” (written by Eugene Wellman)
- “Dig a Little Deeper (In the Well)” (written by Jody Emerson, Roger Bowling)
- “Wandering Boy” (written by A.P. Carter)
- “John Deere Tractor” (written by Lawrence Hammond)
- “Frosty Morn” (traditional)
- “I Haven’t Seen Mary in Years” (written by Damon Black)
- “Little Cabin Home on the Hill (written by Lester Flatt, Bill Monroe)
- “Heard My Mother Weeping” (written by Carl Story, Lowell Blanchard)
