Billy Strings Asheville tickets

Billy Strings, born William Lee Apostol in Lansing, Michigan, grew up in the small town of Ionia, where his stepfather Terry Barber introduced him to the bluegrass tradition at an early age. Barber, an accomplished amateur musician, put Doc Watson, Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley, and Earl Scruggs on rotation, giving Strings a deep foundation in flatpicking and traditional songcraft before he hit his teens. At the same time, Strings was absorbing rock and metal, playing in hard rock and indie rock bands as a teenager and developing the genre-blurring instincts that would eventually define his sound.

His professional career launched in 2012 when mandolin player Don Julin brought him on as a duo partner, a collaboration that lasted four years and sharpened his chops on the touring circuit. Rolling Stone named him one of the Top Ten New Country Artists to Know in 2017, the same year his debut album Turmoil & Tinfoil charted at No. 3 on the Billboard Bluegrass charts. Two years later, he signed with Rounder Records and released Home, which hit No. 1 on both the Heatseekers Albums and Bluegrass Albums charts and won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album in 2021.

Since then, Strings has steadily expanded his reach without abandoning his roots. Renewal (2021) cracked the Billboard 200 at No. 82 and the Top Country Albums chart at No. 9. Me/And/Dad (2022), a collaboration with his stepfather Terry Barber covering traditional country and bluegrass standards, debuted at No. 37 on the Billboard 200. His fourth studio album, Highway Prayers (2024), became the first bluegrass album in over 20 years to reach No. 1 on Billboard's all-genre Top Album Sales chart. His fifth studio album, So Much for Goodbyes, followed in 2026, reaching No. 13 on the Billboard 200. Across bluegrass, Americana, roots rock, jam band, and even psychedelic territory, Strings plays guitar and banjo with the kind of technical precision and raw energy that makes every live show feel like its own event.