Billy Strings connects with his stepfather Terry Barber on their new collaborative LP, Me/And/Dad. Available now on all streaming platforms, the album pays homage to the traditional bluegrass lineage borne by the 30-year-old guitar phenom and highlights the ways in which songs are passed down within communities and, more specifically, within families.
“As long as I can remember, I wanted to make a record with my dad,” Strings shared. “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.”
Featuring bassist Mike Bub, mandolinist Ron McCoury, banjo picker Rob McCoury, and fiddler Michael Cleveland, with guest appearances from Jerry Douglas, Jason Carter, and Strings’ mother, Debra Barber, who sings on the final track, Carl Story and Lowell Blanchard‘s “I Heard My Mother Weeping”, the 14-track offering includes covers of bluegrass classics by Doc Watson, Bill Monroe, Jody Emerson, and many more.
Among the tracklist are previously released singles “Long Journey Home”, George Jones’ “Life To Go”, and “John Deere Tractor”, as well as The Stanley Brothers‘ “Stone Walls and Steel Bars”, Doc Watson and Gaither Carlton‘s Appalachian fiddle tune “Pear Tree”, and “Little Cabin Home on the Hill”, originally recorded by Bill Monroe with Flatt & Scruggs in the early days of the bluegrass era.
The album presents an intimate portrait of father and son sharing in a musical tradition that predates them both. The two musicians harmonize their vocals on the Carter Family‘s “Wandering Boy”, singing “Out in the cold world and far away from home / Somebody’s boy is wandering alone,” after which you can hear Terry say, “That kind of makes me crack a little bit,” to Billy, who solemnly replies, “Yeah, I know.”
Me/And/Dad is now available on all streaming platforms. Along with the album release, Billy Strings shared a behind-the-scenes video about the making of the record. Watch the video and listen via Spotify in the players below.
Billy Strings – The Making of ME/AND/DAD (Official Video)
Billy Strings – ME/AND/DAD