Playing with his full band, the guitar phenom headlined opening night of the Charlotte Bluegrass Festival, the first festival he attended as a young lad. The recap, fan quotes, photos, video at Local Spins.
Gathering Round a Single Microphone: Billy Strings and band at Charlotte Bluegrass Festival. (Photo/Anna Sink)
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Already having hosted more than a half-century of performances by traditional bluegrass artists from across the country, the history of the small-but-mighty Charlotte Bluegrass Festival — whenever that tome gets written — will likely lead off with Billy Strings.
That’s because the buzz created by this guitarist and bluegrass superstar for his unexpected-till-the-11th-hour appearance Thursday at the cozy affair staged at the Eaton County Fairgrounds was unprecedented when it comes to the 53-year tenure of this Michigan festival.
His late-evening set with his band drew a sold-out crowd of the event’s usual attendees and fans of traditional bluegrass music, as well as scads of so-called “Billy Goats” who celebrate their guitar hero at venues and festivals across the country.
“It’s really refreshing, it’s nice to go to a bluegrass festival,” Billy Strings told Local Spins before taking the stage.
Billy and His Dad: Terry Barber joined the band on stage Thursday. (Photo/Steve Baran)
“This is where I learned to do this s–t,” he said with a smile. “I heard some music like this, I got infatuated.”
The remarkable, heartwarming appearance by the bluegrass powerhouse who grew up just down the road in Muir came after he drew capacity crowds for two nights of homecoming shows in late May at the 12,000-capacity Van Andel Arena, and the night before he and his band traveled to Lexington, Ky., for two straight sold-out concerts at Rupp Arena.
On Thursday, Billy and his band revisited the music he grew up up with, with a couple of crowd pleasers in “Red Daisy” and “Dust In A Baggie,” which drew a huge crowd response.
The biggest highlight came later in the set when Billy’s stepdad Terry Barber joined the band on stage as the crowd chanted, “Terry! Terry!” The expanded group performed The Stanley Brothers’ “Don’t Step Over An Old Love” and the classic, “Little Cabin Home on the Hill.”
Billy also called another festival performer, Junior Sisk, on stage to sing along on “Love Me, Darlin,’ Just Tonight,” and dedicated “Blackjack County Chains” to Del McCoury, saying he hoped McCoury could play the festival next year.
The band closed out its headlining set with “Y’All Come.”
A ‘SWEET AND SPECIAL’ NIGHT FROM A HOME-STATE HERO
“Great show,” said fan Jim Dart, who called Barber’s appearance a “special” highlight. “Crowd was a bit talkative, but I guess it’s because it was a festive feeling. The size of the stage seemed to be the star as its small size gave everyone a bump and nod to a unique show.
“I am sure many Billy fans didn’t get their freaky peaks, but the straight bluegrass and odes to the past masters made for a really memorable show.”
The homey performance impressed attendees such as Melissa and Bill Cooper of Muskegon, who are such dedicated fans that they’re flying to Australia to catch Billy Strings during the band’s first-ever Down Under tour.
Melissa Cooper said she enjoyed the nostalgia of seeing Billy return to a spot that gave him his start. “It was really sweet and special,” she said.
Greeting Fans Before the Show: William Apostol, aka Billy Strings. (Photo/Jeff Broddle)
For his part, Billy told Local Spins that he prizes his Michigan background — with his love of bluegrass taking root at this Eaton County festival: “I’m just proud to be who I am and where I’m from, and do the things I’ve done.”
Billy Strings played the festival in 2014 and 2015, and Jerry Eicher, producer of the Ol’ Hippie Bluegrass Show, remembers well seeing him play 10 years ago. “I was really amazed with his youth and energy, and his knowledge of bluegrass picking,” Eicher said.
When Strings reached out last winter to say he wanted to play the festival it was “mind-blowing,” conceded Wes Pettinger, promoter of Charlotte Bluegrass Festival. “We are on the map as an established festival, but this puts us on another plane.”
The publicity that the bluegrass star lends to the festival is welcome, especially after the event was canceled during the COVID pandemic. And in 2021, the event had to be evacuated due to a tornado.
Fans may love seeing Billy Strings and the band light up massive arenas, but Thursday night’s festival appearance gave the guitarist a chance to show them where it all got started. And Pettinger couldn’t be happier to help provide that experience.
“I’m indebted. There’s not words that could describe our appreciation to him coming to this event,” he said.
– Jeff Broddle, Jim Dart and John Sinkevics contributed to this report.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Tragedy struck after this festival appearance. Billy Strings shared the sad news the next day from the stage ahead of his sold-out Lexington, Ky., concert at Rupp Arena. His mother, Debra Apostol, passed away after the homecoming show at Charlotte Bluegrass Festival. Local Spins and its entire staff extend their deepest sympathies to the Apostol family.
PHOTO GALLERY: Billy Strings & More at Charlotte Bluegrass Festival
Photos by Anna Sink, Steve Baran and Jeff Broddle
View Thursday’s Full Set List at BillyBase.net here.
VIDEO: Billy Strings at Charlotte Bluegrass Festival
This week’s special “Festival Edition” of the Michigan Music Showcase on WYCE and Interlochen Public Radio features tracks by Great Lakes State artists performing at various music festivals across Michigan this month, including Billy Strings, Wreckno, Y-Not, Dixon’s Violin, Myron Elkins, The Smokin’ Dobroleles, Ben Traverse (with Nick Veine), Stone Clover and The Go Rounds. Plus we debut new music from St. Sinner Orchestra, Cal in Red and Basic Comfort. Listen to the show below.
The Local Spins Michigan Music Showcase airs at 11 a.m. Fridays and 5 p.m. Sundays on WYCE (88.1 FM) and online at wyce.org, and on Interlochen Public Radio at 7 p.m. Saturdays.
PODCAST: Local Spins Michigan Music Showcase (6/20/25)
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