If you were to ask just about anyone who the best current country and bluegrass guitar players are, they’d likely say Billy Strings and Zach Top. Luckily, these two musical forces of nature combined their talents on their new EP, Me & Billy. Released today, February 28, Strings and Tops’ EP only features three songs. However, the quality of these three songs gives you something to chew on for quite some time.
The EP includes the songs “Bad Luck,” “Things To Do,” and a cover of Ricky Skaggs’ 1983 No. 1 hit, “Don’t Cheat in Our Hometown.” The first two songs mentioned appeared on Zach Top’s debut album, Cold Beer & Country Music. Though they are completely reinvented and now fit into the bluegrass genre, a genre Top has toiled in ever since he began picking. And well, Billy Strings is the current king of the genre, and has helped bring it back to the mainstream.
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Regarding the collaboration, Top told the Everett Post, “We had a lot of fun, traded back and forth some playing and what not” and “It’s so fun to watch him play.” “And I feel like he’s known so much for a player that it gets passed over sometimes how freaking good of a singer he is too.” “It was so fun to get to sing with him and he was kind enough to come in on a couple of my songs and sing a second verse, sing a little harmony, do that kind of thing. It was a blast,” concluded Top.
A Major Win for Bluegrass
As of now, Billy Strings is undeniably the most popular bluegrass musician in the world. That being so, it is a huge deal for the genre to have a mainstream country musician such as Zach Top join in on the fun. And for bluegrass fans, it’s also just quite a joyful event to have these two stud musicians featured on the same songs.
Hopefully Strings and Top’s collaboration isn’t the last, and hopefully, their album also causes a major ripple within the world of country music. Not to be too cynical, but in a world where pure musicianship seemingly takes a back seat at times, it’s refreshing to see these two swoop in with something original.
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