The guitar phenom in June headlined Day 1 of the Charlotte Bluegrass Festival, the first festival he ever attended as a boy. Later that night, sadly, his mother died. The recap in our top stories countdown.
An Unprecedented Set: Billy Strings and band at Charlotte Bluegrass Festival in June. (Photo/Steve Baran)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Local Spins today continues its countdown of the Top 10 stories of the year with No. 8: our coverage of Billy Strings’ appearance at the small-but-mighty Charlotte Bluegrass Festival just weeks after his band played two sold-out shows at Grand Rapids’ Van Andel Arena. Scroll down for brand new photos from the event and a video.
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When Billy Strings and band made their much-ballyhooed — and somewhat unexpected — appearance last June during the rootsy Charlotte Bluegrass Festival at the Eaton County Fairgrounds, it proved to be a historic performance followed by incredible heartbreak.
Already having hosted more than a half-century of performances by traditional bluegrass artists from across the country, the history of the small-but-impressive 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 in June at the cozy affair 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.
The special opening night was a milestone for the intimate Charlotte Bluegrass Festival celebrating its 53rd year as the state’s longest-running music festival.
“Billy made contact with me and we were over the moon excited for his return after 10 years,” said festival organizer Wes Pettinger. “We were blown away that we were given the opportunity to give him our stage. Thursday (opening day) tickets sold out in 12 hours.”
Billy had remarked on Facebook that it was the first bluegrass festival he ever attended as a child “and it changed my whole life.”
During their set, 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 Pettinger. “We are on the map as an established festival, but this puts us on another plane.”
Pettinger also believes Billy Strings’ appearance “will help bridge a few of the Billy Goats to our bluegrass culture and rebirth a new generation of followers.”
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.
“I’m indebted. There’s not words that could describe our appreciation to him coming to this event,” he said.
Sadly, just hours after that homecoming show, tragedy struck: Billy’s mother, Debra Apostol, passed away at age 64. The guitarist announced the news before his sold-out show the next night at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., walking out on stage alone prior to the concert to make a tearful statement to his fans.
He told the audience that he ended up in an “old country church” after walking through Lexington early in the morning after learning of his “beautiful” mother’s death. “It was my decision to carry on with tonight’s show because that’s what my mom would have wanted me to do,” he said, then implored fans: “Instead of a moment of silence, can you please make as much noise right now for my mom?”
Hundreds of fans and friends paid tribute to Debra Apostol on Facebook, calling her “a beautiful, vibrant soul” and “a bright light,” while noting her pride and love for Billy, her family and her friends.
– Jeff Broddle, Jim Dart and John Sinkevics contributed to this report.
PHOTO GALLERY: Billy Strings & More at Charlotte Bluegrass Festival
Photos by Anna Sink, Steve Baran and Jeff Broddle
View The Full Set List at BillyBase.net here.
VIDEO: Billy Strings at Charlotte Bluegrass Festival
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