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Billy Strings put a real name behind his stage name, William Lee Apostol, and brought his Michigan upbringing into a career that quickly became one of the biggest modern stories in bluegrass. He was born in Lansing, Michigan, and he traces his musical foundation to his stepfather, Terry Barber, an amateur bluegrass musician he considers his father. Apostol’s biological father died of a heroin overdose when he was two, and the family later moved through Morehead, Kentucky, then Muir, Michigan. By his early teens, his parents were struggling with methamphetamine addiction, and Apostol left home at thirteen, later describing a period of hard drug use before he stopped using hard drugs and alcohol.
His start in the business came through paid work before fame. In 2012, mandolin player Don Julin asked him to join a paying gig, and the partnership continued for four years, giving him professional momentum and steady stage time. By 2016, the International Bluegrass Music Association recognized him with the Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year award. In 2017, he released his debut solo studio album, Turmoil & Tinfoil, which reached number three on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums chart and also appeared on the Heatseekers chart.
From there, Apostol built an album run that turned into both chart power and major awards. His second solo studio album, Home, was released on September 27, 2019, topped the Billboard Bluegrass Albums chart, and later won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album in 2021. He followed it with Renewal, released on September 24, 2021, which again hit number one on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums chart and later earned Grammy nominations, including for the album itself and for “Love and Regret” in Best American Roots Performance.
By 2022, he was expanding the story beyond a standard band format while still keeping the musicianship front and center. He made frequent guest fiddler Alex Hargreaves a permanent band member during a show in Baltimore on July 3, 2022, turning his touring group into a five piece that also includes Billy Failing on banjo, Royal Masat on bass, and Jarrod Walker on mandolin. On October 3, 2022, he announced Me/And/Dad, a project made with Terry Barber, and the album later earned a Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album.
His biggest awards stretch into the present, and the pace stayed relentless. On July 12, 2024, he released his first full length live album, Live Vol. 1, built from live recordings from 2023 and 2024, and it won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards. He followed with Highway Prayers, released on September 27, 2024, produced by Apostol and Jon Brion, which peaked at number twenty two on the Billboard 200, topped the Bluegrass Albums chart, and won Best Bluegrass Album at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards on February 1, 2026. Across the major award ledger, he has three Grammy wins from eight nominations, plus multiple wins and nominations through the International Bluegrass Music Awards and the Americana Music Honors and Awards, including two Americana wins in 2022 and 2023.
His appeal with listeners is rooted in the same thing that made him a working musician before the spotlight, he connects traditional discipline to modern energy and keeps the live experience central. His discography on record includes four studio albums, one live album, and a catalog of singles and music videos, while his career has also included notable appearances outside the normal album cycle, including recording a bluegrass cover of “Yahoos and Triangles” for the end credits of the Hulu revival of King of the Hill. In his personal life, he married Ally Dale on September 9, 2023, after nine years of dating, and musicians Trey Anastasio, Les Claypool, and Bob Weir performed at the ceremony, then the couple welcomed a son on September 29, 2024.
Complete List Of Billy Strings Songs From A to Z
- 107 – Turmoil & Tinfoil – 2017
- All of Tomorrow – Turmoil & Tinfoil – 2017
- All the Luck in the World (with Circles Around the Sun) – Highway Butterfly: The Songs of Neal Casal – 2020
- Away from the Mire – Home – 2019
- Be Your Man – Highway Prayers – 2024
- Cabin Song – Highway Prayers – 2024
- California Sober (featuring Willie Nelson) – Non-Album Single – 2023
- Catch and Release – Highway Prayers – 2024
- Dealing Despair – Turmoil & Tinfoil – 2017
- Doin’ Things Right – Turmoil & Tinfoil – 2017
- Don’t Be Calling Me (At 4AM) – Highway Prayers – 2024
- Enough to Leave – Home – 2019
- Escanaba – Highway Prayers – 2024
- Everything’s the Same – Home – 2019
- Fire Line – Renewal – 2021
- Freedom – Home – 2019
- Gild the Lily – Highway Prayers – 2024
- Globe (with Fences) – Non-Album Single – 2021
- Gone a Long Time – Highway Prayers – 2024
- Guitar Peace – Home – 2019
- Happy Hollow – Highway Prayers – 2024
- Heartbeat of America – Renewal – 2021
- Hellbender – Renewal – 2021
- Hide and Seek – Renewal – 2021
- Highway Hypnosis – Home – 2019
- Hollow Heart – Home – 2019
- Home – Home – 2019
- Ice Bridges – Renewal – 2021
- In the Clear – Highway Prayers – 2024
- In the Morning Light – Renewal – 2021
- It Ain’t Before – Highway Prayers – 2024
- John Deere Tractor (with Terry Barber) – Me/And/Dad – 2022
- Know It All – Renewal – 2021
- Leaders – Renewal – 2021
- Leadfoot – Highway Prayers – 2024
- Leaning on a Travelin’ Song – Highway Prayers – 2024
- Life to Go (with Terry Barber) – Me/And/Dad – 2022
- Listen to the Radio (with Molly Tuttle) – More Than a Whisper: Celebrating the Music of Nanci Griffith – 2023
- Living Like an Animal – Turmoil & Tinfoil – 2017
- Long Forgotten Dream – Home – 2019
- Long Journey Home (with Terry Barber) – Me/And/Dad – 2022
- Love and Regret – Renewal – 2021
- Love Like Me – Home – 2019
- Malfunction Junction – Highway Prayers – 2024
- Meet Me at the Creek – Turmoil & Tinfoil – 2017
- Midnight on the Stormy Deep (with Del McCoury) – Non-Album Single – 2021
- MORBUD4ME – Highway Prayers – 2024
- Must Be Seven – Home – 2019
- My Alice – Highway Prayers – 2024
- Nothing’s Working – Renewal – 2021
- On the Line – Turmoil & Tinfoil – 2017
- Pyramid Country – Turmoil & Tinfoil – 2017
- Red Daisy – Renewal – 2021
- Richard Petty – Highway Prayers – 2024
- Running – Home – 2019
- Running the Route – Renewal – 2021
- Salty Sheep – Turmoil & Tinfoil – 2017
- Secrets – Renewal – 2021
- Seney Stretch – Highway Prayers – 2024
- Seven Weeks in County – Highway Prayers – 2024
- Show Me the Door – Renewal – 2021
- Spinning – Turmoil & Tinfoil – 2017
- Stratosphere Blues / I Believe in You – Highway Prayers – 2024
- Taking Water – Home – 2019
- The Beginning of the End – Highway Prayers – 2024
- The Fire on My Tongue – Renewal – 2021
- The Great Divide (with Luke Combs) – Non-Album Single – 2021
- These Memories of You – Turmoil & Tinfoil – 2017
- This Old World – Renewal – 2021
- Turmoil & Tinfoil – Turmoil & Tinfoil – 2017
- Untitled Instrumental (Hidden Track) – Home – 2019
- Wargasm (featuring RMR) – Non-Album Single – 2021
- Watch It Fall – Home – 2019
- While I’m Waiting Here – Turmoil & Tinfoil – 2017
Albums
Turmoil & Tinfoil (2017): 13 songs
Home (2019): 15 songs
Renewal (2021): 16 songs
Highway Prayers (2024): 20 songs
Highway Butterfly: The Songs of Neal Casal (2020): 1 song
Me/And/Dad (2022): 3 songs
More Than a Whisper: Celebrating the Music of Nanci Griffith (2023): 1 song
Non-Album Singles (2021-2023): 5 songs
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