Up-and-coming bluegrass guitarist Billy Strings is the best musical artist in the world right now.
Yes, you heard me. It’s not Drake or Taylor Swift, but Billy Strings. One may wonder: who is Billy Strings? Strings is widely considered as the best bluegrass musician in the world, according to sources like bluegrasscountry.org.
However, I’m not limiting his skills to one genre but instead all of them. This is not only because of his talent as a guitarist, but it’s also because his ability to fuse different genres, his live shows, and lyricism.
Now, his musical style is based around the genre bluegrass, which is country music with jazz and blues incorporated in as well. However, he uses many more different types of music in his songs, such as rock, folk, and jam band as well.
While he could find much success as a solo artist, Strings has a band that consists of four other members. They are Alex Hargraves (fiddle), Billy Failing (banjo), Royal Masat (bass), and Jarrod Walker (mandolin).
These five all together make up a jam band that rivals others like The Grateful Dead and Phish.
It’s not just the music they play that makes them so great; it’s their amazing energy that Strings himself mainly provides. There are many times throughout the performance he will randomly run and jump around the stage while also playing the guitar at one of the most ridiculous speeds you will ever see.
George F. Roggie of the Harvard Crimson claims a Billy Strings live show to be one of the best. “As one exits the pit after a Billy Strings concert, to call him and his band the best live act in the business feels natural.”
Unfortunately, the lone flaw of Strings as a musician is that he makes little to no attempt to hype up his music.
Contrary to a major portion of musicians today who focus on production and marketing, Strings simply goes out onto the stage and plays. He is not focused on gaining listeners, but rather having a good time playing his songs.
Ironically, though, that’s one of the factors that contributes the most to his success as a musician. While other artists are focused on gaining fans, Strings is focused on improving his already impeccable skills.
Although he doesn’t have the online following he deserves, with only 1.3 million monthly listeners on Spotify, he still holds the ability to sell out major venues all across the U.S. For example, he has played at Red Rocks Amphitheater and the Hollywood Bowl.
Strings himself believes his most substantial following comes from live shows, not Spotify listeners. “We’re never going to be a band that sells a million records. We’re just a band that’s going to sell a million tickets — one show at a time. That’s what we do. We’re a live band. Our thing is our show. We’re going to have real fans that really buy tickets, that really come to the show, that really are part of this family, which is what it feels like right now.”
Strings is still very early into his career, with one EP and four studio albums, all at the age of 31. Already, his albums have the potential to go down as some of the best bluegrass albums of all time.
A couple of them have already won and been nominated for numerous awards. His album, Renewal, was nominated for the best bluegrass album for 2021, and the preceding album, Home, won the same award. He has also tallied up two trophies for Artist of the Year at the 2022 and 2023 American Music Awards.
Strings has many strengths as a guitarist, but the biggest one is his ability to pick guitar strings faster than anyone could ever fathom. This is demonstrated in songs like Turmoil & Tinfoil, Meet Me at the Creek, and Dust in a Baggie.
Strings’s picking is one of the most impressive things one can see from a guitarist, and it is something that requires so much skill and precision it is nearly impossible to master. It’s not impossible for Strings.
Picking at ridiculous speeds isn’t the only reason he is so talented, though. In some of his best songs, Strings slows down the picking pace significantly, or he will even start strumming instead. Some examples of these songs are In the Morning Light and Away From the Mire.
One of the most impressive aspects of Strings’s skills on the guitar is his ability to merge songs. In his concerts, he will often transition the end of one song into the beginning of another. A lot of the time, he brings the songs together so phenomenally well to where listeners can’t tell when the song changes.
While his guitar prowess is what draws in many of his fans, a facet of his music that flies under the radar is his singing and lyricism. Compared to many other jam bands with older singers, Strings is one of the few with an outstanding voice.
Along with his impressive singing comes some of the most well-written lyrics one will hear from any guitarist. He writes many of his songs based on actual personal experiences, which is something that truly resonates with a lot of his fans. Whether he’s writing about his past drug addiction or his family issues, there’s always a message he wants to relay to his following.
The best example is from his first released song, Dust in a Baggie. He initially performed the song for his friends at a party in a basement, and from that moment on, it has captivated listeners with its incredible story.
Strings wrote this song about his trouble with substance abuse and how it completely controlled his life. He sings about how his friends have changed his life for the worse and how he feels ashamed of what he has done.
Saint Paul’s junior Vincent Cruise was touched by the lyricism in the song. “The lyrics tell the compelling story of Billy’s substance abuse and his time in jail. It’s very moving.”
Ultimately, Strings is trying to send a message to his fans to keep them from making the same mistakes that he did. This song, in particular, demonstrates perfectly why his lyrics are so powerful and one of the most overlooked aspects of his songs.
Another song that is incredibly relatable to the audience comes from his 2021 album Renewal. The song is called Love and Regret, and he is singing about his pain after he was struck with heartbreak.
The chorus describes flawlessly what so many people have gone through after a rough breakup or even the loss of a loved one. “I see her running, but I’m not the same, I’ve chased after pleasure to bury my pain, but it’s resurrected, when I say her name, love and regret are one in the same.”
This is just another example of how Strings is trying to pass on valuable information to his fans.
Billy Strings is already in the debate for the most talented bluegrass musician ever and will soon be one of the most beloved guitarists ever once his following inevitably grows as people begin to notice the talent.
When (not if) Strings is eventually regarded as the best pure musical artist in the world, remember this column.
Published by: andrewjames2025
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