Apologies for being a day late on this week’s blog. My allergies have knocked me out this weekend.
Well, Billy Strings does it again. When I think that he cannot get any better, he one-ups me again! So he’s a fantastic musician, a great songwriter, and a decent human being, but his creativity keeps showing how amazing he is.
A few weeks ago, his team sent me a link to his brand new video for his song “10,000 Miles From A Friend,” which is off of his new album So Much For Goodbyes. It starts off with Strings as a cashier at a truck stop talking to a trucker. One would think that this is going to be about the boring life of a truck-stop cashier, but he is only doing a cameo. The focus and story changes to the trucker, his life on the road and struggles trying to support his daughter and granddaughter.
Man! I was actually shedding a tear at the end of this one! Powerful hardly describes the theme of the video. The background on the video is that Strings and the video’s director interviewed a number of truckers to get the storyline going, and the trucker in the video is an actual trucker.
The album is a fantastic listen, to be sure. This was recorded in January of 2026, just months after the death of String’s mother. Many of the songs have a feeling of his sorrow, and the album’s artwork includes many creations by his mother. The final cut, “Debra’s Waltz,” is for her.
I am not going to laud any more about Strings or this album. Let the music speak for itself. Strings is pushing the boundaries of bluegrass while not getting above his raisin’. I hope to shake his hand some day.
Chew on it and comment.
Luegra 