Luke Combs and Billy Strings Join Forces on 'The Great Divide'

Luke Combs. Photo: Zack Massey

Luke Combs teamed with bluegrass star Billy Strings for a new song called “The Great Divide,” which was released Monday (Feb. 1). Fans can listen here.

The collaboration came about as part of a bluegrass project Combs has in the works. It’s a song with a timely message, including the chorus: We’re all so far so far apart now/It’s as deep as it is wide/We’re about to fall apart now/If we can’t reach the other side/We gotta find a way to cross the great divide.

Written by Combs, Strings and Wyatt Durrette, the song was produced, recorded and mixed by Chip Matthews earlier this month in Nashville. In addition to Combs and Strings, the song features Charlie Worsham (acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo), Royal Masat (bass) and Eric Darken (percussion).

Combs shares, “Something that I’ve always wanted to do is write and put out a bluegrass album. This is a song that was supposed to be a part of that project. It’s not a lead single or a lead-in to that project yet, because that is not done. But it felt like the right time to put this song out. When we wrote it, there were a lot of crazy things going on in the world. There’s still a lot of crazy things going on in the world. And I just felt like I had some stuff to say. It’s not meant to be political. It’s not meant to try and tell you what to think or tell you how to believe. That’s not my job. It’s just a guy kinda saying the way he was feeling when he wrote it.”

Strings, who is nominated for Best Bluegrass Album at the upcoming Grammy Awards, adds, “This song is our interpretation of the conflicts and tension we had been witnessing/experiencing around the time we wrote it. We wanted to shine a little light on the situation and offer a bit of hope during what has been a tough time for many.”