Billy Strings Puts Bluegrass Back on Top of the Charts with New Album
Billy Strings has taken bluegrass to heights we haven’t seen in decades, or in some instances, ever. He’s already a massive arena draw, which even during the subgenre’s biggest moments in the past, it never even got close to achieving. And now he’s storming onto the Billboard charts with his new 20-song album Highway Prayers, which has officially set career highs for Strings, and for bluegrass.
Highway Prayers released on September 27th sold 19,055 physical copies during its first week, and along with the songs being streamed nearly 6 million times, results in a total of 23,943 equivalent album sales, putting Billy Strings at the top of numerous metrics, and near the top of multiple others.
No other album sold as many physical copies during the week, so this puts Strings at #1 on the Top Album Sales Chart. Highway Prayers is also #1 on the Vinyl Albums chart, #1 on the Bluegrass Albums chart, and #1 Current Country Albums chart, which tracks recent releases. It’s also #3 on the Digital Albums Sales chart, which tracks album downloads.
This performance by Billy Strings puts a bluegrass album in the top spot on the Top Albums Sales Chart for the first time in 22 years according to Billboard. The last selection to do it was the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack, which sparked a massive resurgence of interest in bluegrass. Billy Strings is doing something very similar with his surge in popularity.
Highway Prayers also comes in at #8 on the Billboard Country Albums chart, as well as #22 on the all-genre Billboard 200 Albums chart. These are all career highs for Strings. His last studio album Me / And / Dad debuted with roughly 16,000 albums sold, and was his previous career high.
Perhaps the best news with all of this is that Highway Prayers is a really good album (read review), and decidedly bluegrass. Though Strings has definitely dabbled in the jam band world—including in the studio—Highway Prayers is a pretty traditional interpretation of the bluegrass discipline. It also might be Billy’s most accessible studio work to date, and includes all new original songs.
Billy Strings continues to rewrite what is possible from the bluegrass side of country as many traditional and independent country artists do the same in country proper. It’s prosperous times in the effort to save country music, and Billy Strings is helping to lead the way.
October 10, 2024 @ 8:55 am
Amazing. There are three guys rewriting the rules (true outlaws) with incredible success: Billy Strings, Tyler Childers, and Zach Bryan.
I remember that 2015 or 2016 GQ cover of Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, and Chris Stapleton with the title “Country Music Insurgents.” They laid the ground work, but the next level of insurgents are taking country music to places unimaginable.
October 10, 2024 @ 10:32 am
I think Strings has replaced Zach Bryan as the most oft-mentioned artist on this website. AND FOR GOOD REASON. The guy is a true generational talent. Don’t dissect him too much. Just enjoy what he does.
October 10, 2024 @ 11:35 am
I saw him at Pine Knob in Michigan last week. It was a perfect show. Bought the LP there too and it hasn’t left my turntable since.
October 10, 2024 @ 12:06 pm
Love the album
October 10, 2024 @ 12:38 pm
Hmm I think my long comment failed to process. Instead will just say hey I’m excited to finally see Billy strings at this hurricane relief benefit concert in Charlotte. Also Sheryl crow will be there for some reason
October 10, 2024 @ 12:58 pm
Great, great news for bluegrass. I hope it has a spillover effect which helps other artists in the genre.
Still, not to be pedantic but, what the hell, to be pedantic: To those of us who have a long history with Appalachian and related music, O Brother Where Art Thou? was less a bluegrass album than an oldtime one, more mountain tradition than Bill Monroe invention. Where pure bluegrass is concerned, I think the last one to chart was a 1970s film soundtrack of sorts credited, if memory serves, to the Delivery Band.
October 10, 2024 @ 1:12 pm
Also on the topic of Billy strings at this benefit concert and I am seeing reports of the tickets being resold for massive increases. Which I don’t know if anything needs to be said but it’s so fucked up there’s nothing to stop people from profiting on reselling tickets to a benefit concert.
October 10, 2024 @ 1:45 pm
Strings has built a heck of a following over the years. It’s funny to think that all he needed was one album where he pulled back on the prog to truly explode.
You gotta wonder if this impacts the live show at all? That recent GQ profile kind of gave the sense that he might be looking to reign in the monster a little bit. I enjoy the show, but man would it be cool to see this album as a live set instead of playing jam band roulette with the setlist.
October 12, 2024 @ 6:48 am
If he starts pulling back on that jamming in his live shows, I will definitely want to go see him & his band.
October 12, 2024 @ 6:21 pm
He is doing a show end of month dedicated to the new album
October 14, 2024 @ 8:06 am
Nice! Hopefully that one gets professionally clipped for YouTube and not just Nugs.
I’ll be on the lookout.
October 10, 2024 @ 2:19 pm
So happy for Billy and the band! Not happy about the competition for tickets though :(. He’s doing 6 nights in Asheville for the Winter Tour but not expecting that won’t sell out in minutes regardless.
October 10, 2024 @ 2:53 pm
Even if it sells out, there will be tix available. Only thing is that you gotta go to the lot and TALK to people. If you are uninitiated, this is not like most modern concerts. We don’t scalp and only use secondary markets when there are no other options. You’ll find plenty of face value tickets if you look.
Take a walk around the lot with a beer, your hand up, and index finger pointed skyward. The tickets will find YOU, man.
October 11, 2024 @ 9:35 am
Asheville got crushed by a hurricane. Im looking at the Harrahs site and they are canceling a lot right now. I suspect they aren’t exactly ready for shows at this moment. I do see they are listing Billy Strings shows for February. Perhaps they believe they will be up and running by then. I know that currently Asheville is a full blown disaster area. And based upon what I’m seeing and reading, it will take years to build everything back. A shame, I’m a fan of that area, particularly the little towns around the Blue Ridge Pkwy like Black Mountain which got leveled.
I would be skeptical of shows going on there at all this winter, though I suspect Harrahs like all the businesses, needs the income and likely will do everything possible to get it back and operational.
October 11, 2024 @ 1:44 pm
They’ve been using the center as a recovery area although I’m not sure how much damage they received. My wife works near Harrahs at the main hospital/trauma center and they don’t expect to get back to city water at the hospital for a while, but I imagine Harrahs should be getting back to normal in time for these shows. I had tickets for Greensky Bluegrass at Salvage Station in November and that’s cancelled. Salvage Station was already being forced to close due to the I-26 project, so now that it’s been destroyed, that’s it for them. Hopefully they’ll find a new venue, but they were counting on the income for the rest of this year to move to a new venue and now that’s gone. I also have tickets for the Stringdusters and John Stickley Trio at the Sierra Nevada Amphitheater at their brewery next week. I haven’t heard about a cancellation there yet and don’t know how their doing. It sucks that music venues are down, but even worse that entire neighborhoods will need time to rebuild and get power and/or water back.
October 11, 2024 @ 2:38 pm
Yep. I heard that 80% of the waterlines are destroyed. There’s 1800 miles of waterline in Asheville. Having supervised quite a bit of waterline installations over the years, I can say it’s gonna be awhile before it’s all replaced. A lot is involved in water lines, including pressure testing for leaks. Getting air out of new lines with big drops and deflections is very tedious, and you gotta do it to get a passing pressure test. 1800 miles is just a staggering amount of line. If they opt for ductile iron it will take forever. Pvc may be the way to go at this point.
My real point is, that’s just water, think about the power grid, the fiber optics, storm sewers, sanitary sewers, street lighting, and road rebuilding. And we haven’t even mentioned the houses and commercial buildings flooded and or destroyed. Asheville is a true disaster in every way. Hate to say it but concerts are among the least of the problems right now.
October 11, 2024 @ 5:54 pm
After letting this album set in, and multiple listens, I declare it an awesome album. He is becoming iconic. This level of success is well deserved. I also believe his singing is under appreciated. I think it may be the secret sauce to it all.
October 13, 2024 @ 8:20 pm
I pray every night for all the people in North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida God Bless All. I was there last year in February. my son is a big fan of Billy String. he took his wife and his mother-in-law.. the last night on Sunday my son took his daughter, which is my granddaughter. She was only six years old and she loved it.. Billy String. I’m hoping to see Billy String in February 2025. I haven’t got to see him yet. I want my son to take me to Charlotte to see him, but he said the tickets was a little bit too high. And I know it’s for a good cause God Bless All of them. I’m so happy for Billy String. Congratulation to Billy Sting and is wife and their baby boy God Bless . Kathy