Billy Pilgrim (band) - History

History

Kristian Bush and Andrew Hyra (a brother of actress Meg Ryan) first began performing together in 1990. After about a year, they started recording their songs to tape. The self-release St. Christopher's Crossing was recorded in two days in a studio in Knoxville, Tennessee and appeared in 1991 (credited to "Andrew Hyra & Kristian Bush") on cassette. The album was released on CD in 1992 when Amy Ray of Indigo Girls helped them with the release costs. Playing hundreds of shows in the Southeast, their effort was noticed and they proceeded to record their second album Words Like Numbers under the indie label Sister Ruby. After this they signed to Atlantic Records, naming the group Billy Pilgrim.

In 1993 Billy Pilgrim recorded their debut album Billy Pilgrim at Nickel and Dime Studios, with Don McCollister producing and Hugh Padgham mixing the record. The eponymous album was a moderate success when released in 1994. With the next album, Bloom, the band launched a fall tour, headlining larger venues than they had in the past. Yet in early 1996, the band was dropped by Atlantic. After releasing several albums thru Internet only, the album In the Time Machine became their last effort to date, released on May 12, 2001. An update on the band's website indicates that Billy Pilgrim are not currently active, but no official disbanding has been announced.