Between ministering to their communities and traveling down the southern interstate from Macon, Georgia, to Birmingham, Alabama, the Dominican friars of The Hillbilly Thomists are balancing full-time religious life with the whirlwind of a regional tour.
The music group’s latest project, “Strange Land,” was released as a surprise drop just a couple of days into their summer tour, offering listeners a blend of deep theological reflection and traditional Americana music.
The surprise drop decision was driven largely by their demanding schedules. After writing and recording the tracks a year prior, the postproduction process had to fit around their primary duties as “hounds of the Lord.”
“The postproduction process just takes a while because we are all full-time preachers and teachers and chaplains and pastors,” said Dominican Father Justin Bolger, who spoke with the National Catholic Register, the sister news partner of EWTN News, along with his band brothers while on the road.
“After this kind of two-week stint that we do in the summer, the music takes a backseat to that … So it kind of came out when it came out.”
Musically, “Strange Land” ranges from spiritual anthems like “In-A-My Soul” and “Gloria” to playfully titled tracks like “Garrigou” and “Good Old Elvis.”
Dominican Father Thomas Joseph White, one of the founding members of the band who also serves as rector at the Angelicum in Rome, noted that the variety reflects the band’s distinct personalities while remaining grounded in shared themes.
“There are some themes that show up, like pilgrimage and hope and struggle, that are in all the songs,” he explained. “It’s very consistent with what we’ve done on other albums, and it just comes out organically or naturally from our songwriting.”
The record marks a step forward in technical execution for the ensemble.
White described the album as representing a “slightly higher echelon of musical sophistication,” aided by tighter harmonies and complex arrangements. Unlike previous albums where the friars handled all engineering themselves in retreat houses, they hired a professional recording engineer for “Strange Land.”
“It frees up more of the band to just focus on the music and to collaborate and just have that be the focus,” Bolger added.
That spirit of collaboration is rooted deeply in their shared Dominican vocation. “We’ve known each other for years, and we’re all united in the Dominican order, so it just makes for a real atmosphere of ease,” said Dominican Father Jonah Teller, describing the mutual trust involved when bringing personal songs to the group.
As the band’s popularity grows, so does a devoted grassroots fan base. White observed a natural overlap between people interested in Catholic intellectual life — such as participants in the Thomistic Institute — and fans of their bluegrass music.
That enthusiasm has even spilled over into unofficial merchandise crafted by fans. At recent shows, custom fan art has begun to emerge, including T-shirts designed by a college student featuring torch-bearing dogs alongside the caption “I’m a dog for my Lord,” as well as custom “Good Tree” hats.
“You do see some kind of fan art emerge at these shows, which is charming,” Bolger noted.
White deadpanned that the order was engaged in a “very serious lawsuit” to confiscate the student’s assets and protect its intellectual property, prompting laughter from the rest of the band.
The group’s reach has extended all the way to the Vatican.
Recalling a past meeting with Pope Leo XIV, White shared that while most gifts were set aside, the pontiff asked to keep The Hillbilly Thomists’ CDs close by.
“So I don’t know if he listens to them, but I do know he made the point of keeping them,” White joked, adding: “It’s unclear at this point in time whether any of our lyrics will be quoted in forthcoming encyclicals, but there’s some speculation.”
When asked about playing traditional American folk and bluegrass music, especially as the nation celebrates 250 years of independence, singer and mandolin player Dominican Father Austin Litke pointed out the unique place the band occupies within the genre.
“The Christian part of American culture has not always been predominantly Catholic,” Litke noted.
“To be able to take up that form of music and infuse it with Catholic doctrine, Catholic culture, and certainly Thomistic culture … we hope is part of the genius of the creativity that’s come out of our fraternal work.”
The 11-show tour concludes on Saturday, Aug. 8, fittingly on the feast of St. Dominic, with a performance alongside the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia at the Dominican Campus in Nashville, Tennessee.
As for how fans can support the new release, Bolger kept his message simple: “Let all the old people and the young people know that they can find it on Spotify.”
This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
