Only 27 days until August 28, but who’s counting?
I don’t want to wish away time, but I’m more than ready for the new Billy Strings album to drop. He and the band have played a handful of the unreleased tracks live a time or two at various shows this year, and now that he’s releasing singles, the anticipation building rapidly.
Titled So Much For Goodbyes, Strings’ 7th album is dedicated to his late mother and will mark his first project released since her tragic passing in June of 2025. While the majority of the 16-song tracklist presumably revolves around heavy themes of family, love, loss, and grief in a deeply personal manner, his latest single release has less to do with his relationship with his mother and more so with the area in which she raised him.
Raised alongside the Maple River in the Central Michigan town of Muir and fascinated by its history, “Mill Town Flood” is a fictional account of a real figure from the town’s past that utilizes vivid imagery and multi-faceted metaphor to tell a story of love and loss on one hand, and a separate cautionary tale on the other, conveying the relentlessness and power that nearby rivers and other natural forces possess. They may have helped spur the town’s industry, but they could also wash it all away with no remorse in the blink of an eye. In an Instagram post yesterday announcing the single’s upcoming release, Strings’ provided insightful commentary regarding “Mill Town Flood.”
“This song is dedicated to the folks back home. It’s a fictional story using some non-fictional characters and places. It is based on the village along the Maple River that I grew up in, Muir, Michigan. The last few years, I have become increasingly obsessed with the history of the small town. It’s so interesting to me to learn about the area. I started collecting old postcards and reading anything I could find about Muir in the 1800’s.
Back in the day, Muir was home to a steam sawmill that could cut up to 20,000 feet of lumber a day and when the railroad was built it helped propel the industry. They floated giant logs down the river to the mill and then when the railroad was built it gave them the opportunity to ship that lumber out to surrounding areas, creating a bustling scene at the Montrose Station (later named Muir in honor of superintendent of the Detroit and Milwaukee railway H.J. Muir). Darwin Lyin was the station agent there.
Up there in the Grand River Valley, it is not uncommon for those rivers to rise up and take over. I saw it flood many times throughout my life and as I learned more about the area, I realized those rivers have been in charge for as long as people have been living next to them. Sometimes it’s your best friend and at times it can be your worst enemy. I’ve always had a profound connection and adoration for the Grand River, the Maple River, and Stoney Creek.”
For centuries at this point, folk and country artists have been taking historical events, places, and people and telling their stories through song, often with their own creative twist on the narrative instead of just as it happened. Historical fiction songs are an underrated aspect of country music, if you ask me, and often times a great test of an artist’s lyrical craft to pen such a track effectively.
Billy Strings, of course, is a formidable songwriter, and his ability to draw on historical circumstances and bring life to the landscape he grew up around is on full display in his latest release. And as always, his spectacular lyricism is bolstered, or perhaps even overshadowed, by the incredible musicians helping bring his vision to life. In addition to Strings leading the charge on vocals and guitar, the recording features an all-star lineup including his bandmate Royal Masat on bass, Bryan Sutton and Daniel Tashian on guitar, Lindsay Lou on backing vocals, and P.J. George III on harmonium.
An awesome music video accompanies the tune as well, and it even includes historical postcards and photographs from Strings’ personal collection. Check “Mill Town Flood” out for yourself here:
New music like this just makes waiting for the full album even harder, but I guess that’s kind of the point of singles in teh first place. Anyway, check out the tracklist for So Much For Goodbyes below, including the lead single “Burn The Other End” and be on the lookout for the full project coming on August 28.
So Much For Goodbyes Tracklist:
“I’m One Of Those”
“Burn The Other End”
“Carry Us Home”
“Lay Me Down”
“Lucid Daydream”
“Mill Town Flood”
“Live To Tell”
“Bluewater Breakdown”
“Light The Way”
“I Like Train Songs”
“10,000 Miles From A Friend”
“Still I Crash”
“I Wish I Wanted To”
“Remember To Cry”
“Wrestling An Angel”
“Debra’s Waltz”
And of course, I highly recommend getting out there and catching a Billy Strings concert. Many of these are already sold out, but if he’s coming to a city near you in the next several months, do what you can to get a ticket and experience the greatest show in the business right now.
Billy Strings Tour Dates
July 31—Bethel, NY—Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
August 1—Bethel, NY—Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
August 4—Charleston, WV—Charleston Coliseum
August 6— Fishers, IN—Fishers Event Center
August 7—Fishers, IN—Fishers Event Center
August 8—Fishers, IN—Fishers Event Center
August 28—Ionia, MI—Ionia Freak Fair
August 29—Ionia, MI—Ionia Freak Fair
September 18—Denver, CO—Ball Arena
September 19—Denver, CO—Ball Arena
September 20—Denver, CO—Paramount Theatre
September 25—Los Angeles, CA—The Orpheum Theatre
September 26—Inglewood, CA—Kia Forum
September 28—San Diego, CA—Pechanga Arena
October 2—Oakland, CA—Oakland Arena
October 3—Oakland, CA—Oakland Arena
October 6—Eugene, OR—Matthew Knight Arena
October 9—Everett, WA—Angel of the Winds Arena
October 10—Everett, WA—Angel of the Winds Arena
October 23—Huntsville, AL—The Orion Amphitheater
October 24—Huntsville, AL—The Orion Amphitheater
October 30—Baltimore, MD—CFG Bank Arena
October 31—Baltimore, MD—CFG Bank Arena
December 4—New Orleans, LA—Saenger Theatre
December 5—New Orleans, LA—Smoothie King Center
December 9—Sugar Land, TX—Smart Financial Centre
December 11—Fort Worth, TX—Dickies