''Home'' is the fourth studio album by American
bluegrass musician
Billy Strings, following ''
Turmoil & Tinfoil'' and preceding
''Renewal''. Released on September 27, 2019, the album stayed on the
''Billboard'' Bluegrass Albums chart for 77 weeks, peaking at number one and being the first studio album by Billy Strings to do so. The album was titled ''Home'' simply for the fact that Strings was starting to "feel at home" in his
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
residence and in the music industry at the time of the album's release.
The album earned Strings his first
Grammy Award for
Best Bluegrass Album
The Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works (songs or albums) in the bluegrass m ...
at the
63rd Annual Grammy Awards in March 2021. His song "Taking Water", one of the tracks on the album, was performed on ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...
''.
Overview and meaning
American singer-songwriter
Molly Tuttle gave background vocals on "Must Be Seven". The lead track on the album, "Taking Water", focuses on groups of people being "left behind in society", while "Away From The Mire" focuses on what Strings states was "personal stuff between me and a family member".
Reception
''Home'' was positively received by reviewers and the public. Kenny Berkowitz of
''Acoustic Guitar'' stated "...the most startling thing about the album: the way Strings can channel the
Grand Ole Opry
The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...
one minute, fly his freak flag the next, and be perfectly at home in both." Michael Davis of
''No Depression'' said "The songwriting
f ''Home''is cutting and intelligent" as well as stating that "''Home'' demonstrates that Strings is primed to keep exploring the outer reaches of roots music." Ron Harris of
ABC News stated that "Songs like 'Hollow Heart' are beautifully delivered, but traditional bluegrass in approach and structure." Carol Thompson of the ''
Lansing State Journal'' states the album "exemplifies Strings' talent and frenetic, creative energy".
Track listing
Personnel
;The Band
* Billy Strings – guitar, vocals, banjo
* Billy Failing – banjo, vocals
* Jarrod Walker – mandolin, vocals
* Royal Masat – bass, vocals
;Additional musicians
* John Mailander – violin
(1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
* Glenn Brown – Buchla CM100 synthesizer
(1, 8, 13); vibraphone
(4); shaker, finger cymbals, string arrangement, sitar
(5); Harmonium
(13)
*
Molly Tuttle – vocals
(2)
* Christian Sedelmyer – violin and viola
(5)
* Kaitlyn Raitz – cello
(5)
* John Churchville – tablas
(5)
* Megan Campbell – vocals
(5)
* Jerry Douglas – dobro
(11, 12)
;Technical
* Glenn Brown – producer, engineer, mixing, mastering
* Lowell Reynolds – assistant engineer
* Dan Davis – assistant engineer
* Preston White – assistant engineer
* Evan Wilber – assistant engineer
* Sean Williams – cover art
* Bill Orner – design and layout
* Jesse Faatz – photography
References
{{portal, music
2019 albums
Billy Strings albums
Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album