Billy Strings is on a long, strange trip

XPN | By Raina Douris,

Published March 18, 2022 at 10:19 AM EDT

Billy Strings' latest album is called Renewal — and that title should tell you a little bit about what to expect from it. In 2021, he won the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album for his last album, called Home — so what does that mean for a guy who's been playing guitar since he was a kid? Who's been on the road for much of his life, touring non-stop? Billy will answer those questions, and you'll hear him perform songs from his new album, which blends his blistering brand of bluegrass with forays into psychedelia and jam band territory. Just to let you know, in this interview, we do discuss the use of psychedelic drugs. Billy Strings will tell you all about the long, strange trip he's on.

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Raina Douris

Raina Douris, an award-winning radio personality from Toronto, Ontario, comes to World Cafe from the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), where she was host and writer for the daily live, national morning program Mornings on CBC Music. She was also involved with Canada's highest music honors: hosting the Polaris Music Prize Gala from 2017 to 2019, as well as serving on the jury for both that award and the Juno Awards. Douris has also served as guest host and interviewer for various CBC Music and CBC Radio programs, and red carpet host and interviewer for the Juno Awards and Canadian Country Music Association Awards, as well as a panelist for such renowned CBC programs as Metro Morning, q and CBC News.

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John Myers

Since 2017, John Myers has been the producer of NPR's World Cafe, which is produced by WXPN at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Previously he spent about eight years working on the other side of Philly at WHYY as a producer on the staff of Fresh Air with Terry Gross. John was also a member of the team of public radio veterans recruited to develop original programming for Audible and has worked extensively as a freelance producer. His portfolio includes work for the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, The Association for Public Art and the radio documentary, Going Black: The Legacy of Philly Soul Radio. He's taught radio production to preschoolers and college students and, in the late 90's, spent a couple of years traveling around the country as a roadie for the rock band Huffamoose.

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