The word is out: Billy Strings is riding hard into Texas. The Grammy-winning guitarist announced the final stops of his mammoth Fall 2025 tour, and Austin, the undisputed Live Music Capital, is squarely in the crosshairs. Strings and his band are set to return to the Moody Center on Saturday, December 13, 2025, for a show that is less a concert and more a high-octane communion.
This is not the same prodigy who first turned heads just a few short years ago. This is Billy Strings, the arena-filling phenomenon, now touring on the strength of his groundbreaking new album, Highway Prayers.
Trading Tinfoil for the Blacktop
Released on September 27, 2024, Highway Prayers is the musician’s latest full-length statement, and it’s a brilliant pivot. Where his previous album of original material, Renewal (2021), was a masterclass in psychedelic jamgrass—pushing the boundaries of the acoustic world into sonic space—this new record feels grounded and road-tested.
Co-produced by Strings and the eclectic Jon Brion, the 20-song collection strips back some of the cosmic explorations to focus on raw, masterful storytelling and songwriting. It is a work forged from life on the road, where the miles, the characters, and the solitary reflections of a touring musician are laid bare.
Songs like the album’s single, “Leadfoot,” capture that endless, high-speed chase across the American blacktop. The album made history by becoming the first bluegrass-rooted project in decades to hit the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s all-genre Top Album Sales chart, a clear signal that Strings is not just a bluegrass hero, but a force in American music, period.
Embodying Austin’s “Weird”
Austin has always been a key proving ground for Strings. It’s a city that reveres tradition but demands innovation—a perfect environment for his signature blend of lightning-fast flatpicking and improvisational fire.
The sheer velocity of his rise in Texas is staggering. It wasn’t long ago he was playing theaters; now he is headlining arenas like the Moody Center. His popularity in Austin isn’t just about technical skill—which is prodigious—it’s about the cultural synthesis he achieves. He is the bridge that connects the rigid purity of traditional bluegrass with the free-form exploration of the jam band world, all delivered with the swagger and lyrical depth of outlaw country.
His music, with its influences ranging from Doc Watson to heavy metal, is uniquely built for a city that celebrates Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and the Grateful Dead in equal measure. The Austin music community officially welcomed him into its pantheon with his celebrated appearance on the Austin City Limits television show.
50 Years of Austin City Limits
Strings’ debut on the historic Austin City Limits stage was taped in 2021 (for Season 47), and it served as a powerful declaration. He stepped onto that legendary stage already bearing a Grammy, but he earned the audience’s reverence with his performance.
The set was a thrilling showcase that paired his 2013 breakout anthem, “Dust in a Baggie,” with tracks off his breakthrough album, Home, and the new material from Renewal. It was an explosive, boundary-less performance that cemented his status as the leader of the next generation. The appearance was a ceremonial moment, confirming that the young picker who learned how to perform in a metal band was now a Texas music legend in the making.
ACL blew out its birthday candles back in April, with the two-hour PBS special, “AUSTIN CITY LIMITS CELEBRATES 50 YEARS,” a high-octane salute to the longest-running music show on TV. This wasn’t just a clip show; it was a full-throttle summit that seamlessly stitched together the show’s legacy, from vintage Willie Nelson footage to jaw-dropping new performances.
The night’s electricity peaked with an appearance by Strings, who ripped through an intricate set with mandolin master Sierra Hull: a powerful reminder that ACL remains the epicenter for serious American roots music. The duo paid deep tribute to the show’s bluegrass heritage with a mesmerizing, high-speed instrumental take on “Soldier’s Joy,” followed by a stirring rendition of Bill Monroe’s associated classic, “Midnight on the Stormy Deep.” Their white-hot technical precision and palpable chemistry were a thrilling distillation of the genre-defying authenticity that ACL was founded on. In a special that featured everything from Chris Stapleton’s soulful country to Gary Clark Jr.’s scorching blues, Strings and Hull proved that the spirit of American folk music is not only alive but is tearing up the charts and ready for its primetime close-up.
Mark Your Calendars for December 13
When Billy Strings arrives at the Moody Center, it will be with a deeper catalog, a higher profile, and a mandate to deliver a show that only he can. It’s a chance for Austin to see a genuine phenomenon at the peak of his powers, an artist who is simultaneously honoring bluegrass history while ripping the seams out of its future.
And if there’s anything to take away from a Billie Strings show, it’s his refusal to be confined by a single genre label. For many, Strings is an entry point into the wider world of Americana and string music. His songwriting, which often delves into modern American challenges, combined with his exceptional singing and guitar work, provides a unique offering that transcends what might be expected from an artist labeled only as “bluegrass.”
He and his band do not shy away from covering artists outside the traditional canon, which helps draw in fans from the jam band scene, as well as listeners who enjoy rock and metal.
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