BIOGRAPHY
BILLY STRINGS SETS HIGHLY ANTICIPATED NEW ALBUM SO MUCH FOR GOODBYES FOR AUGUST 28
FIRST SINGLE “BURN THE OTHER END” OUT TODAY
PBS’ AUSTIN CITY LIMITS LIVESTREAM THIS THURSDAY
SOLD-OUT INAUGURAL HOMETOWN “IONA FREAK FAIR” CONFIRMED FOR AUGUST 28 & 29
June 30, 2026—3x Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and musician Billy Strings will release his highly anticipated new album, So Much for Goodbyes, August 28 via Reprise Records. Pre-order/pre-save HERE. Ahead of the release, Strings unveils a new song from the project, “Burn the Other End” (written by Strings and Paul Hoffman) today—watch the official music video HERE.
Produced by Strings and T Bone Burnett, the new 16-track project finds Strings channeling a deeply personal period into his most musically mature and reflective body of work to date. The record is accompanied by original artwork created by Strings’ late mother, Debra Apostol.
“I made this record to honor my mother,” Strings shares. “To notice and embrace this very significant period of grief in my life and make art from it. To turn my heartbreak into songs while using my guitar as a coping mechanism as I always have. It’s always been there for me to lean on through the hard times, and I figure it always will…until it’s my time to say goodbye.”
So Much For Goodbyes will be available on vinyl in black, wood grain, and sun core variants, with all production completed in the U.S. The records were plated and pressed at Denver’s Paramount Pressing & Plating, founded by veteran engineer Gary Salstrom and multi-Grammy Award winner David Rawlings, and cut for vinyl by Jeff Powell at Take Out Vinyl in Memphis, TN.
Strings will make his highly anticipated return to PBS’ legendary Austin City Limits program this Thursday, July 2. His first concert since breaking his leg earlier in the year, the performance will be available to livestream via ACL TV’s YouTube and will air later this fall as part of Season 52.
Strings will continue his extensive headline tour through the fall with stops at Boston’s Agganis Arena (two nights), Portland’s Cross Insurance Arena (two nights), Denver’s Ball Arena (two nights), Inglewood’s Kia Forum and San Diego’s Pechanga Arena, among others. Additionally, Strings’ first annual “Ionia Freak Fair” will take place on August 28 and 29, featuring performances from Strings, Sierra Hull, Greensky Bluegrass and more. See below for complete tour itinerary.
The new record arrives amid a career-defining run for Strings, whom GQ hails as “the hottest roots-music phenomenon in decades,” while Pitchfork calls him a “bluegrass wunderkind.” Strings earned his third Grammy Award and second consecutive win for Best Bluegrass Album at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards with Highway Prayers, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s all-genre Top Album Sales chart, becoming the first bluegrass album in 22 years to achieve the feat. In addition to his solo work, Strings has collaborated across genres with artists including Kacey Musgraves, Primus, Luke Combs, Cryptopsy, Willie Nelson and Tony Trischka, among others, and recently contributed a cover of “If You’re Gonna Be Dumb, You Gotta Be Tough” for the upcoming film Jackass: Best and Last.
Since his 2017 debut, Strings has earned widespread recognition, including three Grammy Awards, two back-to-back Artist of the Year at the Americana Music Awards, four-time Entertainer of the Year at the International Bluegrass Music Awards, Best New Headliner at the 2022 Pollstar Awards and Breakthrough Artist of the Pandemic at the 2021 Pollstar Awards. He has also appeared and performed at NPR’s Tiny Desk, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, NPR’s Fresh Air, The Howard Stern Show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Bluegrass Underground as well as countless sold-out shows worldwide.
SO MUCH FOR GOODBYES TRACK LIST
- I’m One of Those
- Burn the Other End
- Carry Us Home
- Lay Me Down
- Lucid Daydream
- Mill Town Flood
- Live to Tell
- Bluewater Breakdown
- Light the Wall
- I Like Train Songs
- 10,000 Miles From a Friend
- Still I Crash
- I Wish I Wanted To
- Remember to Cry
- Wrestling an Angel
- Debra’s Waltz
PRESS
“A premier bluegrass mind for this post-everything era…he has zigged and zagged between the form’s antediluvian traditions and rapid-fire improvisations that hit like hard bop, all within songs with hooks so sharp that he seems poised for crossover stardom.” —The New York Times
“In addition to some dazzling picking from Strings and his bandmates, there’s a heaviness to the chord progressions and lyrics that speaks to his love of metal.” —Rolling Stone
“Strings’ high level of musicianship and lyrical sincerity are the kind that defies the boundaries of time and genre.” —Spin
“Calling Renewal a remarkable work doesn’t even begin to describe “Billy Strings is an unparalleled talent… continue to show the direction bluegrass can go, offering multiple paths full of promise, beauty, and explosive joy” —No Depression
“At this point it’s safe to start including Strings among the pioneers of bluegrass - that is if you still consider his music strictly bluegrass. With one foot firmly planted in tradition and the other carving out uncharted territory with high class musicianship and a knack for experimentation, there’s no doubt that Strings is going to continue taking bluegrass music to dizzy new heights.” -Holler
ASSETS
Download promotional assets HERE