Billy Strings...Bluegrass anyone?

This Billy Strings just won a Grammy for best Blue Grass Album. Normally I would pay no attention to what the Grammies have to say about music but a friend who I highly respect suggested I give this guy a listen.

This guy seems not to restrict himself to previously established norms of any genre. In this first piece I find reference to Crosby Stills and Nash as well as the old Paul Butterfield Blues Band. His inventiveness on guitar, though in different directions from Jimi Hendrix is also featured in this piece.

In a way he reminds me of Joe Bonamassa in his guitar prowess and like Bonamassa turns out to be a very good singer as well.



The instrumentation of his band is surely Bluegrass and the foundations of the work is of a very modern Bluegrass style but his own extravaganza of the scope of it's expression could re-define the genre for years and years to come. He's only 28.

In this second video, Stings plays a duet with legendary Australian guitarist, Tommy Emmanuel with a smokin rendition to Guitar Boogie.



And just one more for now, here is Turmoil and Tinfoil.

He's fantastic. I've seen him play live 3 times.

We first saw him in Steamboat at the Winter Wondergrass music festival. We also saw them at Red Rocks when they opened for Greensky.

We had tickets to see him open for Jason Isbel in Utah but that concert was cancelled last year

My husband is a literal super fan. He thinks he may be one of the top guitar players of all time. My husband is also a huge Panic, Grateful Dead fan, but Bluegrass took over a few years ago.

He reminds me of a young Johnny Cash.

Dude, thanks for this....my cuz is Ricky Skaggs. Dude used to come to my uncles hog roast in eastern KY.


Will deffo listen and report back! Love some grass!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He's awesome. I even like Dust in a Baggie. Listen to it if you haven't checked it out yet

a reply to: knoxie

What caught me was his range of music appreciation, that of course besides his prowess. At times it almost seems like he is playing his own symphonies changing up from one movement to another. He definitely has a wide variety of influences. And I agree, he is as proficient as any I have heard.

Good call, Terry. Billy Strings is one talented cat. Been following him for about two years.