Just a couple of days removed from his Ionia Freak Fair spectacle, Billy Strings opens up about his mom, donating festival profits to Ionia causes and a new recording with a bluegrass legend.
‘Big, Full Circle Moment’: Billy Strings surveying the mammoth crowd at his Ionia Freak Fair. (Photo/Jesse Faatz)
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Two days after the biggest musical event to ever hit Ionia wrapped up in festive fashion for some 30,000 revelers, Michigan guitar powerhouse Billy Strings was admittedly “pretty wiped out” from hosting his first-ever Ionia Freak Fair.
But he was also grateful, proud and already looking ahead to his next project: a studio session with bluegrass mandolin icon David “Dawg” Grisman.
“I was just really proud of my city, my home. Everybody came together and there were just a lot of good vibes,” Billy Strings told Local Spins in a phone interview earlier this week, recalling the spectacle that featured internationally acclaimed bluegrass and metal acts over the weekend at the Ionia County Fairgrounds, just several miles from Muir where the guitarist grew up.
Michigan Pride: Billy Strings, sporting an “Ionia’ T-shirt at his Freak Fair, says he’s ‘a Michigan boy through and through.’ (Photo/Anna Sink)
“I was really overwhelmed with gratitude and it just felt like a really big, full circle moment, you know. I grew up there and I’ve had some hard times, but I love my hometown and I’m proud of my hometown and to come back there after everything I’ve been through and all I’ve accomplished — to kind of bring it back home and show all my people from my hometown what I’ve been up to the last decade or more, and then to be able to expose them to some of my favorite bands, and then also to show my homies and other bands my hometown, it was just a trip. It was just like this huge amazing thing.
“It’s hard to put into words. I just was so proud and so emotional thinking about my younger self and everything I’ve been through to come to that and to be able to bring it all back to my hometown. It’s just a big full circle moment and, I mean, all the bands just killed it. It was just unbelievable to me.”
Those bands and artists included his Michigan pals Greensky Bluegrass, Full Cord, Lindsay Lou and Mark “Huggy Bear” Lavengood on the Main Stage, along with Sierra Hull, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper and Leftover Salmon. A metal tent hosted by The Pyramid Scheme featured Crytopsy, Bane and several hard-rocking Michigan bands that reflected Billy’s metal-shredding years as a teen. The entire festival lineup was handpicked by Billy, who even joined Canada’s Cryptopsy on stage in the metal tent on Saturday.
“That was a big highlight for me, playing with Cryptopsy. I’ve loved those guys for many years and we just kind of became friends online,” he said, still tickled that the band was able to perform at the Ionia Freak Fair. “I can’t believe how epic it was, and it was sick to be able to play with them. I was shredding that stuff for days before the event, just making sure I knew that song so I didn’t screw it up.”
He added that all of the weekend’s performers made it a milestone event starring talented friends who he says he was fortunate to land for the late August festival.
Metal Shredder: Billy on stage with Cryptopsy on Saturday. (Photo/Jesse Faatz)
Billy also used the interview to quell some rumors, announce some news and talk about his late mother, Debra Apostol, who died suddenly in 2025. The guitarist’s new studio album, “So Much for Goodbyes,” is dedicated to his mom and he performed all 16 songs from that recording during his first Freak Fair set on Friday.
Here’s the lowdown on several topics, in Billy’s words:
THE FREAK FAIR IMPACT – “I don’t even think everybody knows it yet, but that was a charity event. I’m not taking any profit from it. We’re still doing some math right now and we’ve got to pay everybody. But after we figure out what the net is, our profit is all going back to the county of Ionia. Yeah, man, we’re gonna put a new roof on the (Ionia) theater and I’ve got a bunch of money going to Ionia Public Schools, and whatever remains will just be a donation to the city. … I was really impressed with my town and … every single person that helped make that event happen. It meant so much to me. I’ve been trying to do it for years. It’s just really amazing to see it all come together, everybody working together to throw this event, and the town of Ionia just kind of bracing for impact and getting ready for that thing. The mayor (John Milewski) is a good friend and he was very instrumental in kind of helping us get everything ready for that.”
QUELLING RUMORS OF A FIVE-YEAR FREAK FAIR RUN – “That was just kind of like a rumor that’s floating around, but I don’t know where that came from. I feel like we’re lucky to get away with it once, you know. I’m just like happy that we’ve made it happen, and in my mind, it was never supposed to be an annual thing. It was just a kind of a one-time deal, especially because it’s right next to that Grand River which can flood and you never know … what that river’s gonna do, so I mean it’s a gamble. I would hate to plan a big event like that and have everybody buy tickets and all this, put all this work into it and then for it to get flooded out or something. I mean, it’s not an ideal location because of that river right there and that’s what I was scared of. I don’t know, I guess I’m gonna have to talk to my team and see if we wanna try to do it again next year, but right now I’m just feeling lucky that we pulled it off at all. Maybe I should just count my blessings and kind of call it good. … I’m proud of my team, you know, everybody. To be able to pull something like this off is, is no small feat.”
REMEMBERING AND HONORING HIS MOM – “She would have loved it (Freak Fair) for sure. She was awful proud of me, and she was dear, very close friends with a lot of my fans that come all the time (to shows). She would have been right out there with him and she would’ve loved this. There would have been a lot of people giving her the adoration and stuff if she was still here, so it was nice to play that record so she could still get that. That admiration and that love, even though she’s passed away, she’s still remembered and her honor is still there. Her legacy is me.
The Throngs: A drone scene of the Ionia Freak Fair. (Photo/Jesse Faatz)
THE NEW RECORD – “I think it’s the most mature effort on my part. I was going through some big time life stuff, losing my mom and I was putting down some real feelings. I got together with T Bone Burnett, he produced the record and we recorded everything live. I was sitting in a circle with no headphones on, just playing with each other in the room and old instruments, old ribbon mics, straight to tape – super old-school approach to making this record and I feel like it was just a more honest and vulnerable kind of record in every way, not just emotionally but sonically. I just really enjoyed making it. I put everything I had into it. I wasn’t trying to make some big spectacular psychedelic journey or some big jamgrass thing. It was more of like an honest, kind of acoustic record and … it just felt more mature to me in a way. I just wanted to make a good, honest record and talk about what I was going through at the time — you know, honor my mom and get some s— off my chest. It was really therapeutic for me and it was really killer having T Bone there every step of the way. He was just an amazing; I love him so much. He’s a dear, amazing producer and my band killed it we had a lot of guests come in. … I mean, everybody experiences loss. If you’re lucky to live long enough, at some point, you’re gonna lose somebody, and it’s nice to be able to help people through that a little bit, you know.”
UP NEXT: A STUDIO ALBUM WITH THE LEGENDARY DAVE GRISMAN – “I’m leaving on Friday to go out to Washington and make a record with Dave Grisman. Our record. I’m going to spend a couple of weeks with the Dawg, and we’re going to see what we can put down on tape, you know.”
LOVE FOR HIS MICHIGAN ROOTS – “Hey man, it’s my home. It’s where my heart is and I’m honored to represent Michigan. It was just really cool to be able to bring that festival back (here) and like with my record, a lot of stuff on there (is about Michigan). “Mill Town Flood,” that’s about Muir, and “Bluewater Breakdown,” that’s about M-21, and “Live to Tell” is about being frozen in a little cold house up in Michigan and the snow won’t quit. I’ve been feeling a lot of pride for my home these last couple of years and I think it’s starting to come out in my writing and stuff. I’m just a Michigan boy through and through, and I’m proud to be.”
Proud to Be a Michigander: Billy and band at the end of the night. (Photo/Jesse Faatz)
VIDEO: Ionia Freak Fair (Day 1)
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