Billy Strings Turns in Career Chart Numbers for “Me / And / Dad”
How much does the listening public care about a batch of ol’ stuffy bluegrass cover songs? Apparently quite a bit when they’re coming from Billy Strings. His recent collaboration with his dad Terry Barber has brought in career-record numbers for the bluegrass phenom, and put him at or near the top of multiple charts.
Released on November 18th, Me / And / Dad moved a total of 17,123 units in sales and streaming equivalents, including 15,646 complete albums. This was good enough to give Billy Strings a #1 album in bluegrass, a #2 album in Americana/Folk right behind Zach Bryan and American Heartbreak, and a pretty stellar showing at #7 in country. The album was also #1 in pure album sales in country, and #5 in all of music. It debuts at #37 on the Billboard 200.
This beats Billy’s previous best of #9 in country, and #82 on the Billboard 200 for his last album Renewal, which sold 10,246 total units, and 8,135 physical albums upon release. Me / And / Dad sees a 67% increase for Billy Strings in sales, and speaks the the Michigan native’s swelling popularity. Strings recently announced new tour dates in 2023, and they confirmed that he’s now graduated to becoming an arena artist.
It’s also worth underscoring just what Me / And / Dad is. This isn’t Billy’s usual mix of bluegrass and exploratory psychedelic space-outs. This is a traditional bluegrass album composed of traditional bluegrass standards co-starring Billy’s dad, and featuring a strong cast of traditional bluegrass players, including fiddler Michael Cleveland, dobro player Jerry Douglas, along with Jason Carter, Ron McCoury, and Rob McCoury from the Travelin’ McCourys.
Billy Strings continues to take bluegrass to heights we’ve never seen before live, and is reviving its place in the Top 10 of the country charts. You have to go back to Alison Krauss and her 2011 album Paper Airplane with Union Station to find a comparable title.
Where Billy Strings will go from here is what we’re all wondering, especially when he releases a new album of original material. But for now he’s making hay with the music he was raised on, and it’s helping to keep these traditional bluegrass songs and modes alive in the modern context.
December 1, 2022 @ 10:36 am
This is not a win for Bluegrass. It’s a win for Billy Strings. Most of the people who bought it are just into a hot, new trend, and have never even heard of Daily & Vincent, much less any of the old timers like Jimmy, Bill, The Osbornes, etc.
December 1, 2022 @ 10:40 am
“Most of the people who bought it are just into a hot, new trend, and have never even heard of Daily & Vincent, much less any of the old timers like Jimmy, Bill, The Osbornes, etc.”
Exactly, and some of them will like what they hear here, seek out those artists, and have a new world of good music opened up to them. That’s the whole point of this album.
December 1, 2022 @ 12:12 pm
No they won’t. It’s cool; I know you’re a dreamer.
December 1, 2022 @ 12:45 pm
I love Ralph Stanley, Jimmy Martin, Bill Monroe, Jim and Jesse, Flatt & Scruggs, etc., and I came in through the back door of Sam Bush and Bela Fleck & the Flecktones and Alison Krauss & Union Station. So it happens.
December 1, 2022 @ 2:31 pm
Exactly. Elvis Costello’s “Almost Blue” album was my gateway to Gram Parsons, which led to Emmylou and from there to artists like Tony Rice, Ricky Skaggs, John Starling and many others. So it does happen.
December 1, 2022 @ 2:35 pm
It’s the same effect as NGDB’s Circle 1 album for me. That album was a gateway to Flatt and Scruggs, Doc, Vasser, Merle, Jimmy Martin etc.
December 1, 2022 @ 11:37 am
I bet you’re a blast at parties
December 1, 2022 @ 11:39 am
Ever attended a BS show? Sure, there are plenty of jam band songs, but the folks that come for that are jumping around singing Ole Slewfoot word for word.
Mac Wiseman didn’t necessarily stick to the traditional bluegrass mold. Would you consider him not good for bluegrass?
December 1, 2022 @ 5:40 pm
As a die hard bluegrass fan, I respectfully disagree.
December 1, 2022 @ 7:23 pm
There are slivers of truth to what Kink Honky states. Yes, there will be some that will explore the genre deeper, but most will not go past the artist that is the latest hip thing. No offense to the immensely talented Billy Strings by the way. You can see it in the rabid Zach following as well. Probably the vast majority is just jumping on the latest hip train with no knowledge of said train.
History has proven this time and again. But hey, 25% of something is better than 100% of nothing. So carry on.
December 1, 2022 @ 8:46 pm
Sorry, “Kink” was really a typo. Nothing intended I promise.
December 2, 2022 @ 9:23 am
Daily and Vincent sound like a grown up boy band, nothing to do with traditional bluegrass by any stretch of the imagination. There is no correlation between them and the real bluegrass artists mentioned.
December 2, 2022 @ 9:47 am
They are known among industry insiders for having retained a publicist before ever playing their first show. The Florida Georgia Line of bluegrass.
December 2, 2022 @ 5:59 pm
In a genre still built on hard work and paying dues, Dailey & Vincent bought their way in.
They can sing. So could the Monkeys. What you see with Dailey & Vincent is the pop approach to crossing over into whatever genre is currently the flavor of the month. They are barely bluegrass at this point, between dabbling in country, gospel and whatever else they are doing to sell CDs in Cracker Barrel.
December 2, 2022 @ 6:51 pm
What I notice in groups like Dailey & Vincent, IIIrd Tyme Out, and the like, is that they hire some of the best pickers in bluegrass music. Then they pay them (better than most) to lay back and keep the focus on the vocalists. In a sense, what happened with pop country has also happened in bluegrass.
Regardless of anything else, Billy Strings brought the music and drive back to the forefront. Or at least of equal importance to the vocals, because he and his band can certainly deliver vocally too.
December 2, 2022 @ 12:10 pm
I took my deep dive into Bluegrass via jam bands in the 90’s, especially Leftover Salmon, which most traditionalists would say are not Bluegrass. Through them I discovered Hartford, Bush, Holy Modal Rounders and on and on. Wasn’t like I didn’t know Bluegrass already, and Bill Monroe, but until I heard the extreme possibilities then I really dug it. Since then I’ve been to countless Bluegrass Festivals, and seen all of the living legends post 1995. It’s acts like Billy Strings, Leftover, NGR, and Hartford that bring new blood into a dying music. Without these acts that push boundaries and draw music lovers from all genres ,Bluegrass would have died out in the 70’s and 80’s. Even the Earl Scruggs review was quite electric and experimental in the 70’s and 80’s because that was what drew the younger audience.
December 1, 2022 @ 12:20 pm
I know its not directly comparable, but it reminds me of back when the Dixie Chicks releases Home. Good times… Its nice to be able to share the joy of bluegrass with people.
The career of the Dixie Chicks seems representative of the rest of the world. It was going well, playing good music and successfully…… then the Afghanistan war, then they broke up-ish and tried to come back together and make some trashy music but can’t even agree on their own name.
Btw, that’s not political, just a cynical observation of a coincidence.
December 1, 2022 @ 2:18 pm
Billy played “War Pigs” when he played Asheville over Halloween weekend. “The Battle of Evermore”, too.
December 1, 2022 @ 6:35 pm
His cover of War Pigs live was out fucking standing
December 1, 2022 @ 4:23 pm
Billy’s last line in the video is what it’s all about.
December 1, 2022 @ 6:19 pm
It’s genuinely difficult to overemphasize how good this band is. They’ve achieved legitimate rockstar status and they’re still on the rise.
December 2, 2022 @ 5:27 pm
This is my fandom of Billy Strings. Ive seen a lot shows huge rock fan huge Primus fan. I love musicianship and knew of Bela Fleck from college. Cool for me to feel Bluegrass. Billy Strings and band are in their prime and Im enjoying the shit out of it.
December 1, 2022 @ 7:53 pm
Well, Gosh …
Dierks & Billy’s High Note video from ticker tape thingy, above – certainly is a lot of fun.
Bet every musician in that video had a blast making it.
December 2, 2022 @ 7:42 am
This is an historic moment in music- yet with today’s society having the attention span the size of a gnat I doubt it will be more than a blip on a radar…somewhere… good thing this site has documented it, otherwise it would be lost- I have developed into a cynical optimistic pessimist where people are concerned- I’m glad I will turn 75 this month. That means I won’t have to put up with the compete idiocy of this world much longer… the cluelessness is amazing and depressing. Yet, once in a Blue Moon, someone comes along to give a glimmer of hope to the cognizant, Billy Strings is one of those-
December 2, 2022 @ 10:32 am
Another absolute clusterfuck trying to get Red Rocks tickets. We got 8 for 5/11 but nothing for 5/12. Two friends were planning on flying in assuming we’d get both days. Right away resale tickets are available for $250 though. Fuckin ridiculous.