Band Session I Fall 2025: Miley & Billy Ray
Our fall band session is Miley & Billy Ray – think Achy Breaky Flowers; a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll. The tabloid-topping Cyrus duo might not be on speaking terms these days, but you can’t deny their musical influence and the way they pay homage to artists who came before them and try out new genres while staying true to their own sound.
Singer-songwriter Billy Ray Cyrus’s career took off with a bang in 1992 with the hit single and line-dancing craze instigator “Achy Breaky Heart.” His “Some Gave All” became the first debut album by a country artist to enter the pop charts at number one (it also hit number one on the country charts).
Billy Ray grew up in a musical family and was influenced by country legends such as Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard. He has continued to walk the line (see what we did there) between country and other genres, becoming a multi-platinum selling artist with 16 studio albums eight top-ten singles under his belt. In 2019, after Billboard removed American rapper Lil Nas X’s country-rap song “Old Town Road” from their Country chart, Billy Ray was featured in the song’s remix, lending his support and some old-school country cred.
In the early 2000s, Billy Ray starred as Robby Ray Stewart on the Disney Channel series “Hannah Montana,” with his daughter Miley Cyrus playing the title character. Which brings us to…
…Singer-songwriter Miley Cyrus has worked hard to break out of the teen idol image she built up while starring as Hannah Montana, evolving into a pop icon with a range of influences and styles, including country, hip hop and psychedelic rock. She has earned three Grammy Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards and eight Guinness World Records. Along the way, she has collaborated with artists like the Flaming Lips and Moby (on the Beatles covers “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “A Day in the Life”) and her godmother Dolly Parton (on a cover of “Jolene”). Miley Cyrus has also worked with Lil Nas X, appearing on his song “Am I Dreaming.”
Miley credits both Elvis Presley and Britney Spears as influences. Her constant reinvention and boundary pushing led Rebecca Nicholson from The Guardian to call Miley the Madonna of her generation. In 2024 Billboard ranked her number 15 their “Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century,” noting that “no matter what style she’s trying out, at the end of the day, she’s always still just being Miley.”
Check out these songs for inspiration as you plan your performance (see the Spotify playlist for links):
Wrecking Ball – MC
Could’ve Been Me – BRC
The Climb – MC (Hannah Montana)
Party in the U.S.A. – MC
Achy Breaky Heart – BRC
Flowers – MC
Back to Tennessee – BRC
We Can’t Stop – MC
Let’s Get Crazy – MC (Hannah Montana)
I Want My Mullet Back – BRC
Angels Like You – MC
It’s All the Same to Me – BRC
Jolene (Dolly Parton cover) – MC
Ready, Set, Don’t Go – MC & BRC
Malibu – MC
Butterfly Fly Away – MC & BRC
Nothing Breaks Like a Heart – MC
Am I Dreaming – Lil Nas X with MC
Old Town Road (Remix) – Lil Nas X with BRC
See You Again – MC
7 Things – MC
I Thought I Lost You (with John Travolta, from the “Bolt” soundtrack) – MC
Important Dates:
Start date: September 8, 2025
End date: November 9, 2025
Dress Rehearsal: November 7, 2025
Show: November 9, 2025
(9 weeks)
Holidays: None