This is a multi-part series on the impacts of incarceration — specifically the disproportionate rates of incarceration Native people face in the state, especially in Northern Minnesota.

KAXE's Larissa Donovan explored the underlying issues of the statistics through survey outreach, extensive research and in-person interviews.

For his fifth album, Billy Strings went more traditional than many expected. While Strings has made a name for himself in progressive jamgrass, So Much for Goodbyes grapples with grief over his mother's unexpected death through songs that already sound like bluegrass traditionals, gospels, hoedowns and a few that lean much more into Americana folk-rock territory.

Lyrically, his grief is at the core of the album, as is what home means. For Strings, home is in Michigan and is a place he clearly holds sacred and maybe romanticizes, as we all do. That sense of place kicks off the album in the traditional bluegrass tune "I'm One of Those" with words like "I'm looking for the place I used to live | I've been driving up and down this road | Trying to bring back old memories for one reason or another I let go." Other classic bluegrass tunes on the album that already sound traditional are "Lay Me Down," featuring Del McCoury and "Mill Town Flood."

One of my favorites from the album, "Live to Tell" features Strings' incredible guitar work, even when put to work in a simple manner. He uses Michigan's cold winters as a metaphor for grief, "Snow keeps falling down on Michigan | The earth is still beneath its icy veil | If I could hold on till the break of day | I'd live to tell the tale."

"Burn the Other End" veers into his signature jamgrass sound, as does "Lucid Daydream," which I half-expected to end up like "Spinning" (from Turmoil and Tinfoil). Instead, it's much more heartbreaking than strange, imagining a conversation with his late mom. His sorrow is palpable in songs like "Still I Crash," a song that seems it was therapeutic for Strings to write and record. It is raw, vulnerable and deeply personal. "Remember to Cry" is grief masked in upbeat bluegrass, and "I Wish I Wanted To" goes country while channeling depression with a wink.

Billy Strings is a revolutionary force in bluegrass and jam music. While this is one of his more straightforward records, it is also one of his richest collections of songs in textures, depth and songwriting. -KH

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