Strings, Smith, McCreery, Nelson deliver new releases

Friday, November 18, 2022 – "Me/And/Dad" is GRAMMY Award-winning bluegrass guitarist Billy Strings' first album, out today, with his father, Terry Barber. The product of a longtime dream, the record features new versions of 14 bluegrass and country classics that the two have been playing together since Strings, now 29, was a young child. Produced by Strings and Gary Paczosa and recorded at Nashville's Sound Emporium Studio, the album features bassist Mike Bub, mandolinist Ron McCoury, banjo player Rob McCoury and fiddler Michael Cleveland as well as special guest appearances by Jerry Douglas, Jason Carter and Strings' mother, Debra Barber, who sings on the final track, "I Heard My Mother Weeping."

Granger Smith today released "Moonrise" and announced his acting debut as the star of PureFlix's upcoming film "Moonrise," out Dec. 15. Produced by Smith with John Marlin, every song on the new record will be featured in the movie. In the film, Smith portrays Will Brown, a country music artist with three kids who has lost his wife in a tragic accident and must seek redemption with his music and his family. Having gone through tragedies himself (Smith's son, River, died in 2019 in a drowning accident), Smith felt connected to Brown after reading the script and asked to hear the songs. Told there weren't any, Smith who soon became the movie's musical supervisor took it upon himself to write all the songs for the movie. The disc contains 11 songs.

Scotty McCreery releases "Same Truck: The Deluxe Album," an enhanced version of the release. The disc contains the number one hits "You Time" and three-week chart topper "Damn Strait" along with current single "It Matters To Her." The North Carolina native wrote four of the 18 songs.

"Willie Nelson Live At Budokan," the first official album release of Nelson's performance at the Nippon Budokan in 1984, drops today. While this has been previously officially available as a LaserDisc in Japan (which is now long-out-of-print with low-grade bootleg copies treasured by collectors), this concert performance of Willie and his backing Family band, is enjoying its first official widespread release. Longtime harmonica player Mickey Raphael produced the set.