The Hillbilly Thomists
22 videos • 6,339 views • by Dominican Friars The Hillbilly Thomists are a band of friars of the Order of Preachers. After playing music together for several years, they released their eponymous debut album in 2017, which reached #3 on the Billboard bluegrass chart and mostly consisted in bluegrass standards and Americana favorites. Since then, the friars in the band have been doing what Dominican friars do: contemplating, studying, and preaching. They’ve also been writing songs. In 2021, they released their second studio album, Living for the Other Side, released on the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas (the original Thomist). A year later, they published a third record, Holy Ghost Power (released July 7, 2022), which peaked at #5 on the Billboard bluegrass chart. In the wake of the release of Holy Ghost Power, the friars embarked on The Old Highway Tour (July 23–August 4, 2022), taking them through eight cities, from NYC to Cleveland, OH, including a stop in Nashville to perform at The Grand Ole Opry House. Proceeds from album sales, donations, and merchandise sales support the formation of friars at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., where the Hillbilly Thomists first came together.