{{Use American English|date=March 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians --> | name = Andrew Hyra | image = | caption = | image_size = | background = solo_singer | birth_name = Andrew Hyra | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1964|02|02}} | origin = | instrument = {{hlist|Vocals|acoustic guitar}} | genre = {{hlist|Folk rock|country}} | occupation = {{hlist|Singer|songwriter}} | years_active = 1990–present | current_member_of = Billy Pilgrim, Smokin' Novas }}
'''Andrew Hyra''' (born February 2, 1964), is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is one half of the folk rock duo Billy Pilgrim with singer, songwriter, and record producer Kristian Bush, and one half of the band Smokin' Novas with Atlanta, Georgia guitarist Brian Bristow.
Hyra began playing guitar in his mid-twenties in the late 1980s, later performing actively with his sister Annie as the Hyras. After collaborations with Bush on their debut albums, Hyra had Bush tour with him when Annie took a job in Miami, Florida. They later created the album ''St. Christopher's Crossing'', and later ''Words Like Numbers'', resulting in the two being signed on to Atlantic Records; Hyra coined the band name Billy Pilgrim. They released two records with Atlantic, ''Billy Pilgrim'' and ''Bloom'', and toured worldwide including an opening slot with Melissa Etheridge, before being dropped in 1996.
Momentum with Billy Pilgrim fizzled out by 2000, with Hyra having his solo debut in 1999 with the album ''Spill'', a collection of music. After a hiatus from music and a removed focus from music as his career he released his second solo album ''Curios'' in 2011. He formed the Smokin' Novas with Bristow in 2014, releasing the album's ''Smokin' Novas'' and ''Travel Mercies'' in the following years. Bush and Hyra made plans to reunite following Annie's death in 2019, and released their lost album ''In the Time Machine'' in 2020, among other collaborations.
== Personal life == Andrew Hyra was born February 2, 1964, in Bridgeport, Connecticut.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Pilgrim's Progress To Be Measured With Tower Tour |last=Sprague |first=David |date=1994-01-15 |pages=11–12 |work=Billboard}}</ref> He graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall in 1982 and from Tulane University with a bachelor's degree in history in 1987. He has three sisters, Dana, Annie, and actor Meg Ryan.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://tasteofcountry.com/kristian-bush-billy-pilgrim/ |title=Remember When Kristian Bush Was In A Duo With Meg Ryan's Brother? |date=2018-03-14 |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=Taste of Country |last=Whitaker |first=Sterling}}</ref> He is married and has two daughters and currently resides in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
== Musical career ==
Hyra began playing the guitar in his mid-twenties, learning to play music by Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, among others. He moved to Long Island, New York in the late eighties where his sister, Annie, was attending college. Finding that the two of them sounded good together, they wrote music; when they moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, the two had written four original songs and performed them at open mic nights in various clubs. One club owner was fond of the two and gave them a permanent opening slot for more established artists for about two years. They performed under the band name the Hyras.<ref name="BP">{{Cite web |url=http://www.billypilgrim.net/biography/index.html |title=Tunes, Technology, and Time Travel: a Billy Pilgrim Biography |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=Trafalmadore |last=Zimmerman |first=Matthew |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716071728/http://www.billypilgrim.net/biography/index.html |archive-date=2011-07-16}}</ref>
=== 1990-1998: Billy Pilgrim === {{Main|Billy Pilgrim (duo)}}
After a few months living in Knoxville, Hyra and his sister were approached by singer/songwriter Kristian Bush on summer break from Emory University, and shortly afterwards began performing with them. Bush had made a few contacts to studio owners from his college band, which they would use to record their first albums. The Hyra's first album ''Big Back Porch Songs'' featured Bush on guitar, and Bush's ''Politics and Pocketchange'' album featured Annie's vocals. The Hyra's had booked a list of upcoming performances, but Annie would accept a job offer in Miami, Florida; Hyra requested Bush fill in, and he agreed. They moved to Atlanta, Georgia so Bush could attend college at Emory University.<ref name="BP"/>
The two performed for about a year with songs they have written over time, and rented two days of studio time in Knoxville to record an album, produced by Danny Brown. They recorded and mixed fourteen songs, released as ''St. Christopher's Crossing''. With the release they began playing hundreds of shows in college towns in Atlanta. They would later attract the interest of an indie label, Sister Ruby, so the two recorded another album for them. Hyra considered the difference in quality between the two albums to be "exponential", which he considered to be because of their increasing confidence. The album was titled ''Words Like Numbers'', coined by Hyra; it's derived from a line from ''Dont Look Back'', a documentary about Bob Dylan, where Dylan referred to himself as a "mathematical songwriter" who used "words like numbers." The album was a success, attracting the attention of Atlantic Records, who signed them onto their label the same night of release. Hyra described the attention and series of events as "a whirlwind" of events. With the new label they decided to switch the name of the band. Hyra drafted up a list of names and they agreed with the one at the top; Billy Pilgrim, named after the character from the science fiction novel ''Slaughterhouse-Five''.<ref name="BP"/>
The duo released the self-titled album ''Billy Pilgrim'' in 1993, in association with producers Don McCollister and Hugh Padgham, who had a group of London musicians overdub the master with additional instruments.<ref name="BP"/><ref name="TOCBP">{{Cite web |url=https://tasteofcountry.com/kristian-bush-pre-sugarland-band-billy-pilgrim-lost-album-time-machine/ |title=Kristian Bush's Pre-Sugarland Album Band Billy Pilgrim Releasing Their Long Lost Album [Listen] |date=2020-07-16 |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=Taste Of Country |last=Trapp |first=Phillip}}</ref> Although the album itself received little attention, "Get Me Out Of Here" and "Insomniac", two songs on the album were, receiving heavy airplay on AAA radio. In 1995 they opened on a worldwide tour for Melissa Etheridge, but copies for ''Billy Pilgrim'' weren't made in time to be promoted throughout it, to Hyra's frustration.<ref name="BP"/> To increase their momentum, Atlantic Records made the two record another album in December 1994; unprepared, they scrambled to write new material two weeks ahead of the date of recording. They were paired with a group of veteran musicians who emphasized sounds that took away from their original music.<ref name="BP"/> Their second album, ''Bloom'', released in 1995. The lead single "Sweet Louisiana Sound" was a critical success, making a full rotation on VH1. At their peak they "traveled all over the world together, just with two acoustic guitars and two voices."<ref name="BPRS">{{Cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/see-kristian-bush-reunite-his-nineties-folk-rock-band-billy-pilgrim-186979/ |title=See Kristian Bush Reunite His Nineties Folk-Rock Band Billy Pilgrim |date=2016-01-22 |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=Rolling Stone |last=Leahey |first=Andrew}}</ref> Critically the band was compared to various other bands, including The Rembrandts, R.E.M., and the dB's; Hyra grew accustomed to these comparisons, but criticized a Louisiana magazine for comparing them to Kenny Loggins, "of all people".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pauseandplay.com/billy-pilgrims-ready-to-bloom/ |title=Billy Pilgrim's Ready to 'Bloom' |access-date=2023-12-14 |website=Pause & Play}}</ref> Hyra referred to their relationships as "blood brothers" having been so young and new to the industry.<ref name="BPRS"/>
Sales for ''Bloom'' were underwhelming, and with increasing focus on Hootie and the Blowfish, Atlanta Records dropped the duo in 1996. Hyra was personally relieved, having felt he regained control that he lost under the record label. The two toured sporadically and planned to release a third album. Eventually, Hyra decided to move to California, describing it as his "wandering minstrel" phase, and wanted to explore more of the world without the pressure of corporate music. In 1997 Bush announced the two would release solo albums, but such plans never materialized at the time. They played a farewell tour in February 1998, but did not have an official break up.<ref name="BP"/>
=== 1999-2013: Solo career and Billy Pilgrim hiatus ===
Over the four years following being dropped by Atlantic Records, Hyra continued to write and perform solo music. In June 1999 he released ''Spill'', a collection of unreleased music ranging from rock to acoustic. It was originally going to be a double album release, but shortened to one due to financial constraints. Bush performed on two of the songs, and Annie was originally planned to supply vocals, but such plans never happened and she was replaced by Elissa Hadley; Hyra said she "channeled Annie in a way".<ref name="BP"/>
In the late 1990s Bush released various demos, outtakes, and live performances of Billy Pilgrim on MP3.com, which helped finance another album. The album, ''Billy In the Time Machine'', was recorded in four separate sessions over the course of eight months. It was scheduled to be released May 12, 2001.<ref name="BP"/> The final works the two made together before unofficially disbanding were compiled into masters tapes. The tapes were burned in a studio fire in late 2000.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://magnetmagazine.com/2021/03/24/magnet-television-qa-with-kristian-bush-and-andrew-hyra-billy-pilgrim/ |title=Magnet Television: Q&A With Kristian Bush and Andrew Hyra (Billy Pilgrim) |date=2021-03-24 |access-date=2023-11-19 |website=Magnet Magazine}}</ref><ref name="BP"/> One copy was salvaged from the accident and made into a CD, of which 500 copies were made and distributed at their final performance in 2001 at Eddie's Attic. The band was never declared disbanded but the two lost contact with each other.<ref name="RLM">{{Cite web |url=https://www.redlightmanagement.com/artists/billy-pilgrim/ |title=Billy Pilgrim - Artist Bio |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=Red Light Management}}</ref>
Following the hiatus, Hyra took a break from music and began working as a carpenter to spend more time with his family,<ref name="BPR">{{Cite web |url=https://www.ajc.com/blog/music/watch-kristian-bush-reunite-with-billy-pilgrim-partner-andrew-hyra-eddie-attic/eFjHUCeCAbtiXUOKxQZUUJ/ |title=Watch Kristian Bush reunite with Billy Pilgrim partner Andrew Hyra at Eddie's Attic |date=2016-11-28 |access-date=2023-11-24 |website=Atlanta Journal-Constitution |last=Ruggieri |first=Melissa}}</ref><ref name="BPRS"/> and also not wanting to be recognized only for his success when he was young. He returned to regularly performing about 6 years later.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://themusicuniverse.com/episode-50-kristian-bush-andrew-hyra-billy-pilgrim/ |title=Episode 50 – Kristian Bush & Andrew Hyra of Billy Pilgrim |date=2020-09-11 |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=The Music Universe |last=Iahn |first=Buddy}}</ref> He moved to Los Angeles, releasing the album ''Curios'' in 2011.<ref name="TMU">{{Cite web |url=https://happeningnext.com/event/andrew-hyra-eid4snw2nm61w1 |title=Andrew Hyra - Uptown Grill's Playlist Theater, LaSalle, IL |date=2022-10-20 |access-date=2023-11-24 |website=Happening Next}}</ref>
=== 2014-present: Smokin' Novas and Billy Pilgrim reunion === Hyra later relocated to Connecticut, and later South Carolina in 2014, where he would form the band Smokin' Novas with Atlanta guitarist Brian Bristow.<ref name="BPR"/><ref name="Ruggieri">{{Cite web |url=https://www.ajc.com/life/music-blog/billy-pilgrim-returns-with-resurrected-album-livestream-from-eddies-attic/HIQIUEPG4BENNCAZZUTQUYU6YQ/ |title=Billy Pilgrim returns with resurrected album, livestream from Eddie's Attic |date=2020-09-03 |access-date=2023-11-24 |website=Atlanta Journal-Constitution |last=Ruggieri |first=Melissa}}</ref> They released a self-titled debut album in 2015, followed by a second album, ''Travel Mercies''.<ref name="SMD">{{Cite web |url=https://thecosmicamerican.net/smokin-novas/ |title=The Smokin' Novas hit all countours of Americana on 'Travel Mercies' |access-date=2023-11-24 |website=The Cosmic American |last=Ritland |first=Erik}}</ref>
Hyra performed at Eddie's Attic with Bristow as the Smokin' Novas in 2016 and reunited with Bush during a solo set he was performing at the festival.<ref name="BPRS"/> Recognizing that Hyra was in attendance, he began playing "I Won’t Tell," a song from Billy Pilgrim's ''Bloom''; Hyra joined him onstage, to Bush's surprise, and sang harmony. They performed various songs from the band for two hours. Bush said the following in a ''Rolling Stone'' interview:<ref name="BPR"/>
<blockquote>"I was playing the song, and people started clapping and standing up, and I was like, ‘We’re not even in the good part of the song yet!’ Then I realized what was happening. Andrew was walking up. We sang the rest of the song together, and the harmonies sounded like they always did. After 15 years! It was beautiful and emotional. I turned to him afterwards and said, ‘So. . .I started this country band.'"<ref name="BPRS"/></blockquote>
Plans to reunite the band were not made at the time, but Hyra performed background vocals on a studio demo for Bush the following week.<ref name="BPRS"/> Hyra said that music had become more of a casual endeavor for him.<ref name="BPRS"/> Annie Hyra died in 2019 and both Bush and his brother Brandon attended her funeral; Hyra credits this second reunion as the moment they both got in the headspace for recording and performing again.<ref name="TMU"/> They declared it was time to get back together when Bush discovered he was in possession of a recording of ''In the Time Machine'' after cleaning out his house during the COVID-19 pandemic. They released a remastered version of the album, as well as re-releases of all of their works, in 2020. They performed a livestream at Eddie's attic, and Hyra planned to collaborate with Bush's other band Dark Water.<ref name="Ruggieri"/> In 2023 Hyra also appeared on 2 cuts of Bush's album ''This Year'', including the lead single "Love and Blue Jeans".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cmt.com/news/yy5xuj/charles-esten-priscilla-block-sam-williams-alana-springsteen-and-more-release-new-music |title=CMT Roundup: Charles Esten, Priscilla Block, Sam Williams, Alana Springsteen and More Release New Music |date=2023-03-03 |access-date=2023-11-24 |website=Country Music Television |last=Watts |first=Cindy}}</ref> Hyra described the reunion, and therefore the sudden change in his life, as "a whirlwind" of events.<ref name="TMU"/> Hyra is currently working on a solo album, ''Now and Then'', set to release in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://patch.com/georgia/duluth/calendar/event/20230910/4eec5a16-e596-4de0-8695-310b93a53c81/andrew-hyra-nick-leet-and-matthew-kahler |title=Andrew Hyra, Nick Leet and Matthew Kahler |date=2023-09-10 |access-date=2023-11-24 |website=Patch}}</ref>
==Discography== ===Albums=== * ''St. Christopher's Crossing'' (March 26, 1992 Sister Ruby)<ref name="AM">{{Cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/andrew-hyra-mn0000034512 |title=Andrew Hyra Discography |access-date=2023-12-05 |website=AllMusic}}</ref> * ''Words Like Numbers'' (March 18, 1993 Sister Ruby)<ref name="AM"/> * ''Billy Pilgrim'' (October 6, 1994 Atlantic Recording Corporation)<ref name="AM"/> * ''Bloom'' (October 19, 1995 Atlantic Recording Corporation)<ref name="AM"/> * ''Spill'' (1999)<ref name="DC">{{Cite web |url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/1743743-Andrew-Hyra |title=Andrew Hyra Discography |access-date=2023-12-05 |website=Discogs}}</ref> * ''In the Time Machine'' (April 12, 2001 Honest Harry)<ref name="DC"/> * ''Curios'' (2011)<ref name="AM"/> * ''Smokin' Novas'' (2015)<ref name="SMD"/> * ''Travel Mercies'' (2015)<ref name="SMD"/>
===Production credits=== * 1992 ''St. Christopher's Crossing'' - Billy Pilgrim<ref name="Official KristianBush.com Discography">{{cite web|title=Kristian Bush Official Discography|url=http://www.kristianbush.com/releases|publisher=KristianBush.com|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030055130/http://kristianbush.com/releases|archivedate=2013-10-30}}</ref> * 1992 ''Christmas Present 1992'' - Various Artists (Billy Pilgrim, "Let It Snow")<ref name="Official KristianBush.com Discography"/> * 1993 ''Words Like Numbers'' - Billy Pilgrim<ref name="Official KristianBush.com Discography"/> * 1994 ''Billy Pilgrim'' - Billy Pilgrim<ref name="Official KristianBush.com Discography"/> * 1994 ''True Story'' - Various Artists (Billy Pilgrim, "Last American Poet")<ref name="Official KristianBush.com Discography"/> * 1995 ''Bloom'' - Billy Pilgrim<ref name="Official KristianBush.com Discography"/> * 1995 ''You Sleigh Me: Alternative Christmas Hits'' - Various Artists (Billy Pilgrim, "The First Noel")<ref name="Official KristianBush.com Discography"/> * 1999 ''Snow Globe'' - Billy Pilgrim<ref name="Official KristianBush.com Discography"/> * 2000 ''BeSides'' - Billy Pilgrim<ref name="Official KristianBush.com Discography"/> * 2000 ''Nine Twenty Three'' - Billy Pilgrim<ref name="Official KristianBush.com Discography"/> * 2001 ''In the Time Machine'' - Billy Pilgrim<ref name="Official KristianBush.com Discography"/>
===Other credits=== * 1992 ''Better Days'' - Shawn Mullins<ref name="AM"/> * 1995 ''Yelling at Karlzen'' - Mary Karlzen<ref name="DC"/> * 1999 ''The First Ten Years'' - Shawn Mullins<ref name="DC"/> * 2000 ''Last of the Old Time'' - Chuck Brodsy ("Take it Out Back") * 2020 ''Hold Me In'' - High on Stress<ref name="DC"/> * 2023 ''This Year'' - Kristian Bush ("Love and Blue Jeans")<ref name="AM"/> * 2023 ''This Year'' - Kristian Bush ("Longneck With Jesus")<ref name="AM"/>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [https://andrewhyra.bandcamp.com/ Andrew Hyra on Bancamp]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyra, Andrew}} Category:1964 births Category:21st-century American male singers Category:21st-century American singer-songwriters Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American folk rock musicians Category:American people of Polish descent Category:Billy Pilgrim (duo) members Category:Country musicians from Connecticut Category:Choate Rosemary Hall alumni Category:Living people Category:Tulane University alumni