Billy Strings

Bluegrass out past the edge

William Lee Apostol was born on October 3, 1992 in Lansing, Michigan, and grew up in Ionia; the name Billy Strings came from an aunt who noticed his ability on several traditional bluegrass instruments. He sings and plays guitar and banjo. After graduating from Ionia High School in 2011 he moved to Traverse City, spent four years partnered with the mandolinist Don Julin, with whom he made Rock of Ages (December 31, 2013) and Fiddle Tune X (October 1, 2014), then moved to Nashville.

He released a self-titled EP on June 10, 2016, was named the IBMA Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year in 2016, and released Turmoil and Tinfoil on September 22, 2017. He signed to Rounder in June 2019, and Home (September 27, 2019) won the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album at the 63rd awards, in 2021. His band has settled around Billy Failing on banjo, Royal Masat on bass, Jarrod Walker on mandolin and, permanently since July 3, 2022 in Baltimore, the fiddler Alex Hargreaves. Wikipedia lists his genres as bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, Americana, roots rock, outlaw country, jam band and psychedelia.