Billy Strings Sings ‘Tennessee’ With Béla Fleck & Bluegrass Heavyweights At The Ryman

Béla Fleck revisits his January 8, 2022 all-star concert at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium with a newly released recording of “Tennessee” featuring Billy Strings on lead vocals and guitar. The bluegrass standard arrives with performance video ahead of Fleck’s forthcoming live album, Live Heart: My Bluegrass Heart At The Ryman.

Due October 16 via Béla Fleck Productions/Thirty Tigers, the 20-track collection documents the gathering of musicians who contributed to Fleck’s Grammy-winning 2021 album, My Bluegrass Heart. “Tennessee” closes the live album and follows the previously released opening track “Blue Mountain Hop.”

“As a New York City kid who fell in love with Davy Crockett and had my own coonskin cap and fringe jacket, this song called out to me when I first heard Jimmy Martin’s classic version,” Fleck stated. “I even moved to Tennessee and have lived there longer than my NYC days.”

Fleck described a sense of closure in performing the song with Strings taking on Martin’s vocal role alongside musicians steeped in bluegrass. Strings also shared his admiration for the banjoist.

“In my opinion, Béla Fleck is one of the most important musicians of all time,” Strings said. “He bridges the gap between bluegrass, classical, jazz, world music, and everything in between. It seems like there’s no limit to what he can achieve on the banjo.”

The Ryman concert featured Sam Bush, Michael Cleveland, Jerry Douglas, Sierra Hull, Molly Tuttle and others. Severe winter weather forced the show to be postponed by one day and prevented Chris Thile, who appeared on the studio album, from reaching Nashville.

Live Heart: My Bluegrass Heart At The Ryman is available for pre-order on triple vinyl and as a two-CD set. Watch Fleck, Strings and the ensemble perform “Tennessee” below:

Fleck’s My Bluegrass Heart band continues touring this fall. On December 3, the group will back Renée Fleming at New York City’s Carnegie Hall in support of her collaborative album with Fleck, The Fiddle And The Drum, with Aoife O’Donovan joining as a guest vocalist.