Billy Strings Highway Prayers
Billy Strings's Highway Prayers stakes a bold claim for the future of modern bluegrass, folding cinematic production into roots-based songcraft while keeping the pickin' at the center. Critics note that the record's strongest moments - “Catch and Release”, “My Alice”, “Leaning on a Travelin' Song”, “The Beginning of the End”, and “Stratosphere Blues / I Believe in You” - balance studio experimentation with plainspoken storytelling, answering the question of whether Highway Prayers is good with a cautiously positive consensus.
Across two professional reviews that produced a 79/100 consensus score, reviewers consistently praise Jon Brion's studio touches for expanding Strings' palette without swallowing his bluegrass roots. Critics agree that songwriting maturation and collaborative production elevate cuts like “My Alice” and “Leaning on a Travelin' Song”, while playful, gritty narratives such as “Catch and Release” and the stoner joke on “Richard Petty” keep the double-album lively. Instrumental tracks including “Escanaba” and “Seney Stretch” receive repeated nods for graceful understatement and hints of newgrass jazz.
While both reviews celebrate the record's ambition and standout songs, they also acknowledge the double-album format brings occasional unevenness - peaks of cinematic grandeur contrasted with quieter valleys. The critical consensus suggests Highway Prayers is worth hearing for fans curious about the crossroads of tradition and modernity in bluegrass, and serves as a clear marker of Billy Strings' ongoing songcraft maturation.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Leaning on a Travelin' Song
1 mention
"A cappella gospel harmonies and Bill Monroe-style twin fiddles set the tone on "Leaning on a Travelin' Song," an opener that feels like a traditional"— Rolling Stone
The Beginning of the End
1 mention
"“The Beginning of the End” feels destined to be a concert-closing signature"— Rolling Stone
Catch and Release
2 mentions
"“Catch and Release” is a talking blues à la Woody Guthrie or young Bob Dylan, but with a rhyme-packing flow that feels 21st century"— Rolling Stone
A cappella gospel harmonies and Bill Monroe-style twin fiddles set the tone on "Leaning on a Travelin' Song," an opener that feels like a traditional
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Leaning on a Travelin' Song
In the Clear
Escanaba
Gild the Lily
Seven Weeks In County
Stratosphere Blues / I Believe in You
Cabin Song
Don't Be Calling Me (at 4AM)
Malfunction Junction
Catch and Release
Be Your Man
Gone a Long Time
It Ain't Before
My Alice
Seney Stretch
MORBUD4ME
Leadfoot
Happy Hollow
The Beginning of the End
Richard Petty
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 4 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Billy Strings takes a confident step on Highway Prayers, where the best tracks - “My Alice” and “Catch and Release” - show his growing mastery of songcraft and feeling. The reviewer's voice lingers on how studio touches and Jon Brion's subtle wizardry fold into bluegrass rather than overwhelm it, making “My Alice” a plaintive anchor and “Catch and Release” a clever highlight. Instrumental pieces like “Escanaba” and “Seney Stretch” are praised for understated grace, proof that the album's quieter moments matter as much as its cinematic flourishes. Overall, the record reads as an expansion of palette that ultimately returns to home territory, delivering some of the best songs on Highway Prayers through empathy, wit, and dexterous picking.
Key Points
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The plaintive “My Alice” is best for its lasting emotional impact and clear, affecting melody.
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The album’s core strength is marrying studio experimentation and Jon Brion's subtle production to rooted bluegrass songwriting.
Themes
Critic's Take
Billy Strings leans into songwriting on Highway Prayers, and the record's best songs - notably “Leaning on a Travelin' Song” and “The Beginning of the End” - show that growth plainly, blending a cappella gospel and closing-the-show grandeur in the reviewer’s favored register. The album is at its most memorable when it dodges genre purism, as on “Stratosphere Blues/I Believe in You”, where electric Ebow bends and gentle fingerstyle broaden Strings' palette. Humorous, gritty storytelling like the talking-blues “Catch and Release” and the stoner punchline “Richard Petty” keep the record lively, while instrumentals such as “Escanaba” and “Seney Stretch” nod to newgrass jazzier impulses. Overall, the combination of Jon Brion’s studio touches and Strings’ hot bandmates makes several tracks standouts even as the double-album has its expected hills and valleys.
Key Points
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“Leaning on a Travelin' Song” is the best opener because its a cappella gospel and twin fiddles set a compelling traditional frame.
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The album’s core strength is blending bluegrass virtuosity with studio-minded collaborations and songwriting growth that dodge genre purism.