The bluegrass guitar whiz bumped The Accidentals from the top slot last month, with four new album entries coming in right behind. See the full chart, listen to music from some of the featured artists.
SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEOS OF SONGS FROM THE HOT TOP 5
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Few musicians have ascended the regional and national bluegrass ranks faster than Michigan’s own native son, Billy Strings.
Born and bred in Ionia, cutting his musical teeth with Don Julin in Traverse City and now directing his attention-getting solo bluegrass career from Nashville, the acoustic guitarist has deservedly turned heads with his electrifying performances, winning honors from the International Bluegrass Music Association and earning raves from all manner of media, including Rolling Stone magazine which listed him recently among the “10 New Country Artists You Need to Know.”
Fans and guitar geeks lean in wide-eyed during his concerts and scour the Internet for Billy Strings videos: His jaw-dropping performance as part of the HopCat presents Local Spins Live at River City Studios sessions has racked up 27,000-plus views on YouTube alone.
So not surprisingly, his first official solo studio album, “Turmoil & Tinfoil,” produced by Glenn Brown, has garnered universal praise and a growing audience for his psychedelically infused bluegrass.
That audience includes plenty of West Michigan radio listeners: “Turmoil & Tinfoil” ruled the airwaves at WYCE (88.1 FM) in October, soaring to No. 1 on the Hop Top 5 chart of local and regional albums getting the most airplay (supplanting last month’s No. 1 — The Accidentals’ “Odyssey”).
And Grand Rapids fans will get a chance to see Billy Strings and his top-drawer band live on Nov. 24 when they rev up the main showroom at The Intersection with help from Mark Lavengood. Get details, tickets online here.
With the exception of Billy Strings — who jumped from No. 3 in September to No. 1 in October — the latest Hot Top 5 chart boasts all-new entries, with brand new albums by May Erlewine, Desmond Jones, Lipstick Jodi and Jukejoint Handmedowns making their Hot Top 5 debut. Check out samples from those recordings below.
Nearly a dozen new regional albums were added to WYCE’s airplay rotation in October, including the long-awaited new album from northern Michigan’s Joshua Davis.
NEW LOCAL MUSIC ADDITIONS TO WYCE: OCTOBER 2017
Joshua Davis, “The Way Back Home”
The Morning Yells, “Proper Wilted”
Blushing Monk, “Blushing Monk”
The Quirk, “The Quirk”
Standing Sun, “Wilder”
Moses, “New Mood”
Magenta Flag, “Injured”
Wicker Basket, “Bless This Mess”
Fly Lite Gemini, “Fly Lite Gemini”
Lipstick Jodi, “Lipstick Jodi”
The Forty Nineteens, “Good Fortune”
VIDEO: Billy Strings, “Turmoil and Tinfoil”
VIDEO: May Erlewine, “Never One Thing”
VIDEO: Desmond Jones, “Good Song”
VIDEO: Lipstick Jodi, “That’s So Great (She Likes Boys)”
Copyright 2017, Spins on Music LLC