Billy Strings & Bryan Sutton: Live At The Legion (Album Review)
Photo Courtesy of Billy Strings Spotify
Bryce Russell | Art & Entertainment Editor
Monday, April 7, Billy Strings released his second official live album, showcasing his intimate shows played at Nashville’s American Legion Post 82 exactly one year prior, along with fellow Bluegrass guitar extraordinaire Bryan Sutton.
The album, featuring only the twin guitars of Strings and Sutton, also served to announce a new string of intimate Fall shows with Billy Strings, Bryan Sutton, and bass player Royal Masat. The strictly acoustic shows will be a return to traditional bluegrass music for Billy Strings, who has grown his own brand of psychedelic bluegrass over the past few years, selling out venues like the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, which boasts a capacity of 18,500 people for concerts.
In my review of Billy’s last album, Highway Prayers, back in September of 2024, I mentioned his statements on missing playing traditional bluegrass, and how he sometimes feels he has to feed the “monster” of this jam band-style of music that he has popularized. On Highway Prayers, I could hear more of Billy’s bluegrass leanings than previous albums, especially when compared to his 2021 album Renewal and his 2024 live album Live Vol. 1.
With constant touring over the past few years, Billy has brought his fusion of Bluegrass and jam band music to arenas and stadium around the country (his biggest show was at last year’s Buckeye Country Superfest, where he opened for Zach Bryan, playing to over 125,000 people over two nights at Ohio State’s football stadium). These intimate shows will be in much, much smaller venues like the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame’s Woodward Theatre in Owensboro, KY, which holds a maximum of only 440 people.
This new live album chronicles the intimate experience of just two men and two guitars playing traditional songs made popular by bluegrass legends like Doc Watson. The stage banter between the two mentions artists like Doc and Merle Watson, the son and father duo that have become flatpicking guitar royalty, and their influence is evident in the style and songs chosen for the album. Songs like “Way Downtown” were Doc Watson staples. Doc Watson has been referred to as one of, if not the, primary guitar hero of Billy Strings. This album is a love letter to the music of Doc and Merle Watson, and Billy Strings and Bryan Sutton definitely honored their heroes in a fantastic way.
The album is entirely cover songs and features no Billy Strings originals, which is somewhat of a shame. Stripped down, dual guitar versions of some of tunes like “In The Morning Light” and “Hellbender” could have been really cool to hear, but I understand why Billy chose to focus on classic Bluegrass standards and old covers instead.
With Billy’s ever-growing popularity, he has made it his mission to bring this music to a wider audience. Growing up in Kentucky, the home of Bluegrass music, I have been a fan of this style of music for forever. I never thought there would be an artist as popular as him bringing this music to so many people who might not have heard it otherwise. If you are a fan of Bluegrass, acoustic guitar, folk music, or Billy Strings, this album is a must listen and is almost like a musical documentary on the influences of Billy Strings.
Standout Tracks:
- “Cold, Cold World” (Blaze Foley Cover)
- “Two Soldiers” (Traditional)
- “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” (Bob Dylan Cover)
- “Groundhog” (Traditional)
- “Walk On Boy” (Written by Mel Tillis, Doc Watson Cover)
Album Rating: 4.5/5