Billy Strings has been hailed as the future of bluegrass, transcending tradition and genre with his high velocity, flat-picking guitar technique and intense, confessional songwriting. HOME, Strings’ remarkable second studio album, is undoubtedly the Michigan-born, Nashville-based artist’s bravest excursion thus far, reshaping bluegrass into his own exceptional form, completely rewiring the aesthetic with elements of punk, country, folk rock, and genuine psychedelic exploration to fashion something altogether original and all his own. From the jump, Strings has infused bluegrass with his own experiences and inspirations, adopting traditional sonic and lyrical idioms to confront contemporary social truths. Songs like “Away From The Mire” and the remarkable title track are rooted in the past but as now as next week, animated by electrifying musicianship, inventive production, and Strings’ irrepressible ambition. HOME marks a landmark on this constantly moving artist’s ongoing creative journey, its fearless songs and freewheeling approach recasting string-based American music in his own inimitable image.   Rightly hailed for their precision picking and groove-locked on-stage interplay, Strings and the band played it equally live in the studio, simply counting off and letting the songs take flight. Traditional recording techniques were eschewed for more of “a rock ‘n’ roll approach” utilizing an array of old compressors and vintage microphones. As ever, Strings took great pleasure in seeing just how far he can push bluegrass without abandoning its core tenets. Songs like “Running” and “Highway Hypnosis” see Strings in forward motion once again, wedding guitar, banjo, bass, and mandolin, with harmonium and eastern percussion, classical string arrangements, and a distinctive distortion Brown creates by running Strings’ vocals through a 1950 Bell PA head meant for electric guitar.     A 21st century artist through and through, Strings has made perhaps an even more important bond with his contemporary peers, including flat-picking icon Bryan Sutton and southern rock guitarist Marcus King, teaming with the latter for the spectacular King & Strings jam at last year’s Rooster Walk Festival in Martinsville, VA. Further all-star collaborations, including King & Strings II, are promised, as are countless headline dates, festival sets, a rare solo tour, and support dates with Greensky Bluegrass, including an eagerly awaited double bill at the world famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO.    “I like to throw myself out there and make myself feel vulnerable,” Strings says. “It lights a fire under my ass.”   Indeed, that same plucky spirit drives Strings and his band’s near-nightly live adventures. Bluegrass has long been a font for improvisational creation, allowing infinite space for musicians to push each other to new heights of exploration and interaction. Strings and his fellow players keep that tradition alive by diving headlong into extended, expansive jams, seamlessly creating whole new worlds with an unstoppable charm, kinetic energy, and a profound connection with the audience.    With its sonic flair, dazzling technique, and forward-thinking enthusiasm, HOME is a strikingly assured manifestation of an increasingly matchless musical vision. Billy Strings is utterly unto himself, a once-in-a-lifetime guitarist, singer, and songwriter whose ingenuity, versatility, and sheer sense of commitment affirm his spot as one of the most visionary and idiosyncratic artists in all of contemporary American music.