Billy Strings
Bluegrass flatpicking with the volume and daring of a rock show
Billy Strings was born William Lee Apostol in Lansing, Michigan, in 1992. His biological father died when he was a toddler, and he was raised by his mother and his stepfather, Terry Barber, a gifted bluegrass guitarist and singer whom Billy regards as his real dad. The family moved between Kentucky and rural Michigan, and home life was hard, shaped by addiction. Through all of it, old-time and bluegrass music played in the house gave him a lifeline and a direction.
As a teenager he also soaked up heavy metal and rock, playing in loud bands before returning to acoustic music. He worked the northern Michigan circuit as a duo with mandolinist Don Julin, then formed his own band. In 2016 the International Bluegrass Music Association gave him its Momentum award for instrumentalists, and his debut album Turmoil & Tinfoil followed in 2017, earning him a spot on Rolling Stone's list of new country artists to watch.
His 2019 album Home won the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album, and Renewal in 2021 widened his sound with longer, more exploratory pieces. On stage he became a phenomenon, stretching tunes into improvisations that drew fans of the Grateful Dead and Phish as well as bluegrass traditionalists. He recorded Me/And/Dad with Terry Barber in 2022 and collaborated with artists from Willie Nelson and Béla Fleck to Post Malone and Ringo Starr.
Highway Prayers, released in 2024, reached number one on Billboard's all-genre Top Album Sales chart, a first for a bluegrass record in more than two decades, and later won another Grammy. A live album also brought a Grammy win in 2025. Now married with a young son, he continues to headline arenas and amphitheaters while keeping acoustic bluegrass at the centre of what he does.
The 10 greatest Billy Strings solos
- 1Billy Strings · solo by Billy Strings · 2019
- 2Billy Strings · solo by Billy Strings · 2017
- 3Billy Strings · solo by Billy Strings · 2017
- 4Billy Strings · solo by Billy Strings · 2021
- 5Billy Strings · solo by Billy Strings · 2019
- 6Billy Strings · solo by Billy Strings · 2021
- 7Billy Strings · solo by Billy Strings · 2021
- 8Billy Strings · solo by Billy Strings · 2021
- 9Billy Strings · solo by Billy Strings · 2024
- 10Billy Strings · solo by Billy Strings · 2024
The sound
Strings is a lightning-fast flatpicker rooted in the Doc Watson and Tony Rice lineage, with crisp crosspicking, driving rhythm and clean single-note runs taken at daunting tempos. What sets him apart is his rock and metal sensibility: he bends notes aggressively, leans into dissonance, and stretches songs into long, psychedelic improvisations, sometimes running his acoustic through effects for phased or echoing textures. His tone is loud and bright, and his solos build like jam-band peaks, yet he can drop instantly back into tight, traditional bluegrass phrasing.
- Preston Thompson dreadnought (guitar) The Oregon-built dreadnought he has favoured as his main stage and studio guitar.
- Five-string banjo (guitar) He also plays banjo, reflecting the old-time and bluegrass music he grew up with.
- Phaser (effect) Used on his acoustic during psychedelic stretches of long live jams.
- Delay (effect) Adds echoing trails to his leads when improvisations drift into spacey territory.
- Wah pedal (effect) An unusual choice for an acoustic flatpicker that underlines his rock roots.
Covers
- Little Cabin Home on the Hill, originally by Bill Monroe and Lester Flatt Recorded with his stepfather Terry Barber in a warm, traditional style.
- Life to Go, originally by Stonewall Jackson A country classic sung as a family duet with his father.
- Tennessee Stud, originally by Jimmie Driftwood A storytelling favourite that he dresses up with hot flatpicked breaks.
- Doc's Guitar, originally by Doc Watson A tribute to one of his biggest heroes, played as a flatpicking showcase.
- Pretty Polly, originally by Traditional He gives the old murder ballad a brooding, minor-key intensity.
Timeline
- 1992 Born William Lee Apostol in Lansing, Michigan
- 2016 Wins IBMA Momentum award for instrumentalists
- 2017 Releases debut album Turmoil & Tinfoil
- 2018 Opens Bluegrass Underground's new cave venue
- 2019 Releases Home on Rounder Records
- 2021 Home wins the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album; releases Renewal
- 2022 Records Me/And/Dad with stepfather Terry Barber
- 2023 Releases California Sober with Willie Nelson
- 2024 Highway Prayers tops Billboard's Top Album Sales chart
- 2026 Highway Prayers wins the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album
Facts
- His legal name is William Lee Apostol.
- His stepfather, Terry Barber, is an accomplished bluegrass musician and the person Billy calls his real dad.
- He played in heavy metal bands as a teenager before committing to bluegrass.
- He once performed as a duo with Michigan mandolinist Don Julin.
- Highway Prayers was the first bluegrass album in more than 20 years to top Billboard's all-genre Top Album Sales chart.
- He has won three Grammys, all for Best Bluegrass Album.
- He recorded the single California Sober with Willie Nelson in 2023.
- He appeared on three tracks of Ringo Starr's 2025 album Look Up.
- He was the first performer at Bluegrass Underground's new cave venue in Tennessee.
- In 2026 he broke his tibia attempting a skateboard trick backstage, forcing him to postpone tour dates.