Bluegrass Star Billy Strings

Summary

Fresh Air: Bluegrass Star Billy Strings

Date: September 8, 2025
Host: Sam Brigger (for Terry Gross)
Guest: Billy Strings
Episode Theme:
An intimate exploration of Billy Strings’ rise as a bluegrass luminary, blending tradition and improvisation, and his personal journey through trauma, healing, and artistry. Strings performs live, discusses his major influences (notably Doc Watson), collaborations, grappling with loss and addiction in his family, and the role of music in his life.

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Main Theme Overview

This episode delves deeply into the artistry and personal story of Billy Strings, a Grammy-winning bluegrass musician renowned for electrifying live shows and his blend of tradition with improvisational jams. Through conversation and live performance, Strings shares how foundational influences shaped his sound, reflects openly about trauma, family addiction, grief, and his ongoing efforts to heal through music. The episode balances probing discussion with moments of levity, warmth, and exceptional musicality.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Genesis of 'Live at the Legion' and Duo with Brian Sutton

• [03:35] Strings describes seeking an intimate venue for a live album with Brian Sutton, contrasting small-room energy with “big jam grass stuff in the arenas.”

  • Quote: “A lot of my favorite live recordings are tiny, little small crowds where you can, you can hear somebody knock over a beer bottle or, you know, you can hear the crowd, what they're saying.” (Billy Strings, 03:40)

• On Brian Sutton: Strings reveres Sutton as a mentor and guitar hero, emphasizing the unique chemistry in bluegrass guitar duos.

2. Doc Watson’s Foundational Influence

• [05:54] Doc Watson is described as “the ground upon which I stand.” Strings grew up steeped in Watson’s music, learning to play his tunes “before I knew how to tie my shoes.”
  • Quote: “His music is just...it's the best. I mean, that's what I was listening to on the way over here.” (Billy Strings, 06:10)
• On Doc’s singing: Watson’s storytelling and conversationalism as a vocalist is a model, like Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton, for “just [letting] the story come through.” (08:00)
  • Quote: “If you focus on the story and telling the words, it's just like, I know where the pitch is. I just need to tell the story.” (Billy Strings, 08:16)

3. Mental Health, Performance Anxiety, and the Art of Zen

• [08:31] Strings discusses his struggles with anxiety, high sensitivity, and maintaining equilibrium amid a hectic career.
  • Quote: “I'm high, strong. I got a lot of anxiety and stress...it's a daily kind of struggle to just stay on the ground.” (Billy Strings, 08:31)
• He admits solace comes from live performance, but practicing offstage is filled with self-critique. Playing music is sometimes a relief, sometimes caught up in anxiety.

4. Pursuing Improvement and Avoiding Musical Ruts

• [10:02] Strings talks about taking online guitar lessons after feeling plateaued by repetition and “default ruts,” even as a two-time Grammy winner.
  • Quote: “I never really took lessons...I just learned how to play from hanging out with my dad...I still don't know what a harmonic minor is. I don't know what the word diatonic means.” (Billy Strings, 10:49)
• Candid about his limited “formal” musical knowledge; instead, he relies on ear, intuition, and immersion in bluegrass tradition.

5. Songwriting: Healing, Catharsis, and Vulnerability

• [15:25] Discussion of “In the Clear,” a song with upbeat music and dark lyrics, reflecting his tendency to process trauma through songwriting.
• [18:04] Strings is forthcoming about using music to confront past wounds—addiction, loss, childhood neglect, and trauma.
  • Quote: “I write these words thinking that I'm giving some information to some people...Really, I'm the one that needs to hear it. And I wrote that for myself so that I could heal.” (Billy Strings, 18:04)
• Strings performs “I Believe in You,” written before his mother’s death, now resonating even deeper in grief.

6. Grief, Addiction, and Family Loss

• [22:00] Strings recounts playing a concert the night he learned of his mother's death, staying true to the energy she brought to his shows.
  • Quote: “The only reason she died is so she could, you know, space travel and be there...she was really living her best life in this last little bit.” (Billy Strings, 22:00)
• Speaks with raw honesty about his mother’s addiction, her connection to his fans, and his own mixed feelings about her lifestyle.
• [24:12] He states openly that she died from an overdose, expressing lifelong pain over his parents’ addiction–and its impact on his childhood.
  • Quote: “It's messed with me my whole life, and now it's gonna mess with me for the rest of it.” (Billy Strings, 24:12)
• Reveals deep trauma, displacement, and abuse in childhood, and the moral crisis of keeping family secrets.

7. The Purpose of Art and Hopes for Change

• [25:17] Strings frames songwriting not only as self-healing, but as a way to help others, aspiring to future advocacy for at-risk kids and families struggling with addiction.
  • Quote: “My duty here is to continue doing what I'm doing...[and] maybe someday I'll actually be able to help kids that are in the situation that I was in.” (Billy Strings, 26:13)

8. Life on the Road and Family

• Strings’ partner and young son travel with him, providing grounding and connection (“Yeah, they’re with me on the road!” [27:44]).

9. Bluegrass Roots, Electric Diversions, and Artistic Evolution

• [31:34] Strings recreates his first years as his father’s rhythm guitarist, absorbing the mechanics of bluegrass before branching into electric guitar and heavy metal in adolescence.
• The transformative moment: discovering his mom’s tape of “Rank Stranger” during a low point, rekindling his passion for bluegrass and shifting his life’s direction.
  • Quote: “I just pulled over on the side of the road and I started crying. And I was drunk, you know. But this song hit me right in my heart. In that moment I was like, what am I even doing in these heavy metal bands? Bluegrass is where my heart is.” (Billy Strings, 35:44)

10. Breakout and Escape from Adversity

• [37:53] After barely graduating high school, Billy Strings left his hometown for Traverse City, where open mics and positive feedback (“I got a standing ovation and I go, whoa, holy crap”) gave him hope for a music career.

11. Passing It Down: Teaching the Next Generation

• Billy’s giving his son his old guitar and singing to him is described as “the best” moment of his life.
  • Quote/Song Lyric: “I sang that to him and he fell asleep. That was like the best.” (Billy Strings, 42:16)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On collaboration and listening in a duo:
  “You just try to listen. You know, if he's down low, I'll go high...” (Billy Strings, 05:24)
• On performing live after tragedy:
  “The only reason she died is so she could, you know, space travel and be there...she was at all the shows.” (Billy Strings, 22:01)
• On trauma and its lasting impact:
  “It's messed with me my whole life, and now it's gonna mess with me for the rest of it.” (Billy Strings, 24:12)
• On family and hope for the future:
  “Maybe someday I'll actually be able to help kids that are in the situation that I was in.” (Billy Strings, 26:13)
• On rediscovering his roots:
  “But this song hit me right in my heart. In that moment I was like, what am I even doing in these heavy metal bands? Bluegrass is where my heart is.” (Billy Strings, 35:44)
• On passing on music to his son:
  “He's 10 months and he's just banging on it. But I sing for him all the time. It's always the best.” (Billy Strings, 40:38)

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Notable Songs Performed (Live)

1. Nashville Blues (Delmore Brothers cover, [02:42])
   • With Brian Sutton, from 'Live at the Legion'
2. Browns Ferry Blues ([13:06])
   • Another Doc Watson staple.
3. In The Clear ([16:15])
   • From ‘Highway Prayers’ — thematically happy-sounding, lyrically poignant.
4. I Believe in You ([19:33])
   • Strings performs a verse, written before but now colored by his mother's death.
5. Leaning on a Traveling Song ([28:15])
   • An ode to life on the road, performed with his longtime band.
6. Beaumont Rag ([32:08])
   • Early bluegrass tune he learned in childhood.
7. Nothing To It ([36:32])
   • One of the first lead tunes he learned, inspired by Doc Watson.
8. Sleep Pretty Baby ([41:45])
   • Lullaby sung to his son.

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Structure & Timeline: Major Segments

• [01:00-12:31]: Opening; early influences, duo with Brian Sutton, Doc Watson’s legacy, musings on performance anxiety and creative process
• [13:06-20:45]: Live in-studio performances, reflections on writing and singing about pain and loss
• [20:53-29:46]: Processing grief, trauma, family addiction, and the role of art in healing
• [31:24-40:38]: Musical upbringing, rebellion and return to bluegrass, career launch, parenting and legacy

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Tone & Style

• Reflective & Candid: Strings is unflinchingly honest about pain, legacy, self-doubt, and responsibility.
• Warm, Humorous, & Down to Earth: Witty and open, with frequent laughs amid the seriousness—never self-pitying.
• Storytelling with Emotional Depth: Every segment is laced with narrative, lyricism, and immediacy.

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Conclusion

Billy Strings’ conversation on Fresh Air stands as a moving document of an artist shaped by adversity, artistic obsession, and the generational transmission of both pain and hope. Not content to rest on laurels, Strings seeks growth and healing—for himself and others—through the timeless but ever-evolving vessel of bluegrass. His interview is a testament to vulnerability as creative force, intergenerational transmission, and the ways music can save, redeem, and connect.

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For listeners interested in bluegrass, addiction, resilience, or the mechanics of making authentic art—this episode is a must.

Transcript

[Sam Brigger]

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[Terry Gross]

I'm Terry Gross. Today's guest is bluegrass singer, songwriter and guitarist Billy Strings. He spoke with FRESH air's Sam Brigger. Here's Sam.

[Sam Brigger]

If you ever find yourself at an arena concert where tens of thousands of fans of all ages are stomping about to the Bill Monroe tune Roanoke or the classic bluegrass song Old Slue Foot, chances are you're at a Billy Strings show. A singer, songwriter and guitarist, Billy Strings is one of the younger generation of musicians carrying the torch for traditional acoustic bluegrass, even while his music incorporates excursions into exploratory improvisational jams and the occasional heavy metal guitar riff. And he's been celebrated by both audiences and the music industry. He's won two Grammys. And Highway Prayers, released in 2024, is the first bluegrass album in over 20 to reach number one on Billboard's All Genre Top 100 Albums sales chart. That album showcases his songwriting and his terrific band. Since then, he's released a live album with another ace, bluegrass guitarist Brian Sutton called Live at the Legion. The duo performed in a more intimate setting than the arena Strings usually plays in these days, the American Legion, Post 82 in East Nashville, playing a lot of music associated with Doc Watson. Let's hear the lead off track from Live at the Legion, nashville Blues, originally by the Delmore Brothers.

[Billy Strings (Singing)]

I've got the blues, those Nashville blues, I've got the blues, those Nashville Blues Ain't got no Ain't Got no shoes these people here they treat me fine these people here they treat me fine well, they feed me beer and they feed me wine and I've got the blues those Nashville blues I've got the blues those Nashville blues I ain't got no hair Ain't.

[Billy Strings]

Got no shoes.

[Sam Brigger]

That'S Billy Strings and Brian Sutton on the new album Live at the Legion. Billy Strings, welcome to FRESH air.

[Billy Strings]

Hey, thank you so much. Good to be here.

[Sam Brigger]

So how did the idea for this show and album come about?

[Billy Strings]

Well, we did a live record. I don't know how long ago it was now, but we did one of our shows, you know, of our big jam grass stuff in the arenas and it's just a different kind of energy. Big psychedelic jams and big screaming audiences. And a lot of my favorite live recordings are tiny, little small crowds where you can, you can hear somebody knock over a beer bottle or, you know, you can hear the crowd, what they're saying. Like Townes Van Zant live at the Old Quarter is a big one for me. So, yeah, we just kind of pulled up into the Legion hall and they were really cool to let us do that. And we had a small crowd there and we played a bunch of music that we love and, and we got a good recording of it and, and Brian Sutton is, he's been one of my good friends for quite a few years now and mentors and heroes and he is one of the greatest guitar players ever.

[Sam Brigger]

Yeah, he's, he's like a generation older than you, but he's, I think he's perhaps like the go to bluegrass session guitar player in, in Nashville these days. And so there's a long tradition of bluegrass guitar duos. There's of course Doc Watson and his son Merle. There's Norman Blake and Tony Rice, Tony Rice and his brother Wyatt. It seems like kind of like a no brainer, just two people playing guitar together. But it's actually like a little tricky. Your instruments are right in the same range. Obviously you're playing a lot of open strings. There's a lot of fast notes. It can, it can get a little muddy. Like what do you do? So you're making sure you're not stepping on the other person.

[Billy Strings]

You just try to listen. You know, if he's down low, I'll go high or, you know, there's things like that. You can do a lot of, a lot of these tunes too. A beautiful thing about Doc and Merle and T. Michael Coleman, with those three instruments, they could make a big fat chord. You Know, like, when they ended a song and they played a chord, it was just this huge chord because it's almost like hitting a piano in a couple different spots. You get these guitars to open up and sound big.

[Sam Brigger]

A lot of this material comes from Doc Watson. Like, some of these songs are songs that are part of his repertoire. And you said that most everything you do comes from Doc Watson. Can you talk about his influence on you?

[Billy Strings]

Yeah, he's like the ground upon which I stand. You know, My dad played his music all around the house growing up. And by the time I could play guitar, you know, five, six years old, I was learning those tunes, too. I might have been able to play some of them before I knew how to tie my shoes or something. You know, it was like I was learning how to speak and talk and walk, and I was learning all these Doc Watson tunes at the same time. And it was just like a religion in my house. You know, his music is just. It's the best. I mean, that's what I was listening to on the way over here. The Sonic journals, the Owsley thing that he recorded. It's just these beautiful recordings. And, gosh, it was so good. Everything they were playing was just churning.

[Sam Brigger]

I can hear some of his guitar playing in your playing. But what about his singing? Was that also influential? Like, he didn't have a big range, but he was expressive, and he is singing. I always think of it as very crisp.

[Billy Strings]

I mean, I think his range was really kind of something to behold when you think about it. He had this great low baritone, and he could also yodel and get up into that really high falsetto. And, you know, but with Doc, it was always just spoken. It was always the information of the song came through and the conversation of it. You know, people like him, people like Willie Nelson, people like Dolly Parton, these really great storytellers when they're singing. You know, if you see Dolly Parton on TV singing and you press mute, it just looks like she's talking to you, because she is. She's telling the story. You know, that's one big thing that one of my vocal coaches that I've been working with. One of the big things that I took from some of those lessons was just give me the information. You know, I get on stage and I sing, and I'm so worried about the pitch. Am I singing good? Is the tone good? Am I singing right? How's my timing? This and that? It's like taking the kids to the park, and you're scared to let them go down the slide because you don't want them to get hurt. It's like, geez, let them play, you know? And so if you focus on the story and telling the words, it's just like, I know where the pitch is. I just need to tell the story.

[Sam Brigger]

So you're doing that more trying to.

[Billy Strings]

It's easier said than done. All this stuff, you know, all the music, kind of Zen, kind of mindful stuff that I've been getting into. It's kind of the inner game, inner game stuff, you know, I mean, I'm high, strong. I got a lot of anxiety and stress, and I'm moving around a lot. I've been really busy the last several years, and I got a lot of my own personal stuff that just haunts me on a daily basis. And I try to do everything I can to just be cool and get my nervous system to chill, but it just seems like I don't know what I can do to calm it. I do the best I can, and I'm doing okay, but it's a daily kind of struggle to just stay on the ground.

[Sam Brigger]

Does playing guitar help, or is playing guitar caught up in all of that stuff? Because that's what you do for a living.

[Billy Strings]

It depends on what kind of playing guitar. You know, if I'm on stage, that's where the joy is. You know, that's where the. Where the fun is. If I'm. I kind of ride myself pretty hard about practice offstage.

[Sam Brigger]

Well, let's talk about that. I noticed on social media, like, a year ago or so, you were popping up, endorsing this online guitar program and talking about how you felt like you'd reached a plateau and you wanted to get better and get out of that. So what was going on?

[Billy Strings]

The more I play shows, the more shows I play in a row, the more you can drive yourself back into these old default kind of almost like a rut of playing licks you always play or playing. You know, you almost get sick of hearing yourself play the same thing, and you're just going, oh, this is. You know, I'm not impressed. I'm not impressed with myself.

[Sam Brigger]

I think it's. I don't know, there's something really honest about you talking about that, because here you are, you're playing for tens of thousands of people. Like, you're an incredible guitar player, and yet you still want to improve and you care about your craft and, you know, you're willing to talk about, like. I imagine there's people who are famous guitar players, too, who take lessons but they probably wouldn't talk about it.

[Billy Strings]

I don't know. I mean, what do you want me to say? I've kind of always thought I sort of sucked, you know, because I'm me. I'm going to be my own worst critic always. But I'm just. Yeah, of course I'm gonna talk about it. I mean, it's kind of interesting. It's like I never really took lessons. I just learned how to play from hanging out with my dad and listening to him play with my old Brad Lasko, my Uncle Brad. And I kind of just was seeped in this Monroe and Stanley Brothers and Flattened Scruggs and Larry Sparks and Jimmy Martin and Osborne Brothers and you know, of course mainly Doc Watson. And I was kind of just soaked in that and marinated in that since I was a little kid. And that's how I just heard everything. It's kind of how I hear music. But I never. I never took any lesson. I still don't know what a harmonic minor is. I don't know what the word like diatonic means. I don't. You know, I have no frickin idea. I have a very limited understanding of these music words that people use. So then I get into these sessions, right, because I'm Bela Fleck, says, hey, come play on my record. And I'm sitting in a room with Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer and Chris Thiele and they're saying, oh yeah, it's just, you know, this is in. They're counting with all these numbers and letters and hieroglyphs and all sorts of stuff. And I'm just like, man, I don't even know what any of this means. I just know the song goes, duck a duck a doo doo doo Duck a duck a bounce. That's how the song goes to me. I couldn't tell you it in a math equation.

[Sam Brigger]

Well, Billy, if you wouldn't mind doing another song for us, that's one of.

[Billy Strings]

Your favorites I could do. Told you. On the way over here I was listening to that Bears Sonic Journals, Duck and Merle T Michael and man, they were sounding good. And they were doing this number here, it's called the Browns Ferry Blues.

[Billy Strings (Singing)]

Hard Luck Popcorn on a lane Mama giving back his walking cane Lord, Lord, I got them Browns Fairy blues well, he throwed it away and he went to town to see a little woman in. Now he's down. Oh Lord, I got them Browns very blue hard. But P, you're getting too tight. You don't get drinking if your high kite. Lord Lord, I got them browns very blue Drink a block and tackle kind you can walk A block and tackle a lion Lord, Lord, I got them browns fairy blue well, I walked up to my girl's old man and I asked him for my true love's hand Lord, Lord, I got them browns fair blue said you l said a hurt hand and got his foot oh Lord, I got those brows for blue hard luck pops 10em in the rain the road was corn you couldn't buy grain Lord, Lord, I got them browns fairy blues Walk around and stick them in close with the smell of his free parade he goes lord Lord, I got them brown fairy blues.

[Sam Brigger]

So, Billy, last year you came out with your album highway Prayers. I wanted to play the second song from the album in the clear. This song is in the long tradition of happy sounding up tempo bluegrass songs with really depressing lyrics. Can you talk about writing it?

[Billy Strings]

Yeah, I mean, I don't know. I think this one was one that I wrote with my buddy Aaron Allen. He's a frequent collaborator. Me and him and John Weisberger get together a lot of times, and we've written quite a few songs together now. But as soon as I started reading some of the words, I knew I could hear it in my head. It happens like that a lot of times, you know. Even if I write something down, I'm thinking of the music as I'm writing it, you know, and it's. It's like I write with the melody, you know?

[Sam Brigger]

This is the second song from the album in the clear. So why don't we hear this?

[Billy Strings (Singing)]

Well, here I am poor over now just crying on the shoulder down the.

[Billy Strings]

Road that I've been driving on for.

[Billy Strings (Singing)]

Days so I ain't my moral compass.

[Billy Strings]

But it's spinning like a wheel you.

[Billy Strings (Singing)]

Could take that many different ways I've had days as black as nighttime and nights that lasted years I spent a thousand hours on my knees broke down and started praying but I was bleeding with the wind just to never feel different in the breeze.

[Billy Strings]

They say heaven.

[Billy Strings (Singing)]

Knows the road is slow Lord, how the hell would heaven know? Just where am I supposed to go from here? How much longer now before I'm in the clear?

[Sam Brigger]

That's the song in the clear from our Guest, Billy Strings, 2024 album Highway Prayers. And this is with the band that you've been with for a while now. It's Billy Failing on banjo, Jared Walker on mandolin, Royal Massatt on bass, and a newer member, Alex Hargraves on fiddle. Well, Billy, some of your songs deal with some pretty heavy subjects that you've dealt with in your life, including, you know, losing friends to suicide, family and friends who are dealing with addiction, you know, feeling neglect when you were a kid. When you write songs about that stuff, is it helping you process those experiences? Is it easy to sing about that stuff once you've written the songs?

[Billy Strings]

Sometimes it's hard. Sometimes it is. Definitely that's how I felt when I sang on stage the night my mom died. It was cathartic. It's cathartic. I've had songs that I've written, you know, about something totally different that I didn't realize I wrote for myself until months later. I write these words thinking that I'm giving some information to some people that could hear it. Really, I'm the one that needs to hear it. And I wrote that for myself so that I could heal. And now I go sing it on stage. And there's also been songs, Stratosphere Blues and I Believe in youn. The other night I was singing that on stage and, you know, like I said, I wrote that before my mom had died. And now singing it after is just different. It's like I knew something or something, you know?

[Sam Brigger]

I'm sorry about your mom passing away. She died this last June. Would you mind singing a verse of that?

[Billy Strings]

I could try. Let's see.

[Billy Strings (Singing)]

Couldn't help but wonder why you threw yourself away. Come on out from under and just take it day by day it's true.

[Billy Strings]

I believe in you Took a walk.

[Billy Strings (Singing)]

To wander and I wandered on a thought it's kind of hard to get through all the things we ain't been taught it's true.

[Billy Strings]

But I believe in you.

[Billy Strings (Singing)]

After all the years of medication.

[Billy Strings]

Feels.

[Billy Strings (Singing)]

Good to get your life on track long as you live. I'm sorry to tell you, you never get that monkey off your back.

[Billy Strings]

Yeah, something like that. Anyways, you know.

[Sam Brigger]

Yeah. That's a beautiful song. Thank you for playing that.

[Billy Strings]

No problem, man.

[Sam Brigger]

If you're just joining us, our guest today is Billy Strings. His two most recent albums are Live at the Legion with guitar player Brian Sutton. And from 2024 Highway Prayers. I'm Sam Brigger and this is FRESH AIR.

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[Sam Brigger]

Well, Billy, when your mom died this last June, I think you heard in the morning and you had a gig that night, you decided to play it. You got on stage and you made a, you know, obviously emotional announcement about it. And you said that. That your mom would have wanted you to go on, she wouldn't have wanted you to cancel the show. Why is that?

[Billy Strings]

The only reason she died is so she could, you know, space travel and be there she was at all the shows. You know, she was always in the mix right up front. She'd show up in New Orleans or Seattle or somewhere and I wouldn't even know she was coming. She freaking hitchhiked there, you know, I was like, what? She walks in my green room, what the hell? You didn't even tell me you were coming. You know, she was just a wild one and she was really living her best life in this last little bit. She had become quite involved with a lot of my friends and fans, you know, that go to every show and go out in the lot and stuff. And she became really close to a lot of these people. And I was always had mixed feelings about that.

[Sam Brigger]

What do you mean?

[Billy Strings]

Well, I wanted her to go have fun and be doing, you know, whatever she wanted to be doing. But I worried about her running into the wrong people or. You know, she's been an addict my whole life and had short stints where she was doing pretty good, you know, And I love to see her out there hanging with all the fans. But at the same time, I was leery of them. You know, I would go over to visit my parents house and there would be like the fans there that I see in the front row of my concerts all the time.

[Sam Brigger]

People you knew or did it or just knew as fans.

[Billy Strings]

Mostly I just recognize them from the crowd, you know, and then I get to know them because they're hanging out with my parents or something. But, you know, and who, what am I supposed to say? Like, don't do that. I don't know, they're grown people, but I don't know. She was getting older and I kind of just had this vision of her in my head that I wanted, which is stupid. It's not realistic to try to come up with somebody else's life in your brain. But like, I just wanted her to have a garden and my dad, 70 years old, she was 64. I was like, man, you guys should like be settling down, you know, don't you think instead of raring and tearing and going and eating all these shrooms and going to all these concerts, and then she did get wrapped up in the wrong stuff, and that's why she's not here anymore.

[Sam Brigger]

I'm sorry. This might be too personal, but. Did she overdose? Is that. Yeah, I'm sorry.

[Billy Strings]

Yeah. And it's. You know, it's. It's messed with me my whole life, and now it's gonna mess with me for the rest of it. You know, I have complex post traumatic stress and I have anxiety and depression, and I have for years tried to deal with this stuff. Just that happened to me when I was a kid, you know, it wasn't just being neglected and there not being food in the house and, you know, my parents being strung out, and I miss them, even though they're sitting right in front of me while they were partying and, you know, stuff like that. I was around the corner being molested, you know, before I was 10 years old and all that stuff, you know, and I've had to deal with that, you know, and it's a really hard thing because there's such beautiful people and they taught me so much about music. But, yeah, their addiction has been really hard on me for my whole life, and it still is. And really triggering to lose her in this manner, you know?

[Sam Brigger]

Well, I'm sorry. I hope talking about it is not triggering any hard feelings for you right now.

[Billy Strings]

I gotta talk about it because it's like my whole life I've had to keep a secret in order to try to not make them look bad. You know, like, even when I was in high school, I spoke to a counselor one time. I mean, I was in 10th grade, but I was couch surfing. I didn't live with them. You know, I moved out when I was like, 13 because the house was no longer a home. They were strung out, and it's a wonder I was even going to school. And one time I got pulled into a counselor instead of the principal's office, you know, and. And they said, what's going on? You know, And I finally just. They told me, anything I say is between them and it won't leave the room. And I said, yeah, my parents are on meth and I don't even live there. And my house got raided right after that. You know, that same day, five state cops came up, raided the house. I almost sent my mom to prison because I opened my mouth. And from then on, I never said to anybody about anything. I've just. It hurts me but what hurts me is I've always just been worried about them, you know, and I've always wanted them to be good. And when I say be good, I mean to be well and happy and have some sunshine in their life. You know, a few years ago, I was able to buy them a home. My parents and stuff was good for a while, but, you know, it just. Yeah, it really breaks my heart that, that it went back to this and now she's gone. So I think my duty here is to continue doing what I'm doing. For one thing, use all that beautiful energy that I get from her, that crazy wild streak. I got to use that and honor her in that way. I feel a great kind of duty as far as just writing down these words, making these songs for people to heal from. And also, you know, who knows, maybe someday I'll actually be able to help kids that are in the situation that I was in. Maybe I'll be able to help their parents, you know, like open a rehab or something or something like that to just to help combat this, because it's really hard, you know.

[Sam Brigger]

Yeah. Are you taking some time for yourself right now? Like, are you able to take some time off the road and you have a young family now that's also. That's at home?

[Billy Strings]

Yeah, they're with me on the road.

[Sam Brigger]

Oh, they go with you on the road?

[Billy Strings]

Heck, yeah, man. So, yeah, I got the whole gang and we're out there traveling, and it's really cool. It's awesome. And so, yeah, I've just been leaning into that, leaning on my family, my band.

[Sam Brigger]

Let's hear one of your songs from Highway Prayers, which is all about being on the road, leaning on a traveling song. And this starts out with some great bluegrass harmonies and also some really terrific fiddles playing together. So let's hear that.

[Billy Strings (Singing)]

Where the air is clear and the road is straight all the choices have been made I'll keep rolling right along Leaning on a traveling song Seeing things that just ain't there five miles away from anywhere Highway 80 way out west can't afford to get no rest.

[Sam Brigger]

That'S leaning on a traveling song from Billy Strings, our guest today from his album Highway Prayers. If you're just joining us, our guest is musician Billy Strings. We'll be back after a short break. This is FRESH air.

[NPR Announcer]

This message comes from Ritual. What makes Ritual vitamins different? Ritual vitamins are made with bioavailable, clinically studied key ingredients as well as the essence of Mint. Get 25% off your first purchase when you visit ritual.com NPR this message comes from Ritual what makes Ritual Vitamins different? Ritual vitamins are made with bioavailable, clinically studied key ingredients and a patented nutrient delivery system that aims to help your body use the nutrients you're getting. Ritual's Essential Multivitamins are made with you and your body in mind and backed by scientific research, filled with key ingredients as well as the essence of mint so you can enjoy taking your vitamins. Get 25% off your first purchase when you visit ritual.com NPR this message comes from Ritual what makes Ritual Vitamins different? Ritual vitamins are made with bioavailable, clinically studied key ingredients and a patented nutrient delivery system that aims to help your body use the nutrients you're getting. Ritual's Essential Multivitamins are made with you and your body in mind and backed by scientific research, filled with key ingredients as well as the essence of mint so you can enjoy taking your vitamins. Get 25% off your first purchase when you visit ritual.com NPR earlier, we talked.

[Sam Brigger]

About Doc Watson, and I wanted to ask if you'd play a tune that maybe was one of the earlier songs that you learned as a kid.

[Billy Strings]

Yeah, when I was a kid, I mostly just played rhythm, so I'll give an example of that. My dad, he would play this, you.

[Sam Brigger]

Know, that's the fiddle tune, Beaumont Rack.

[Billy Strings]

Yeah. And so I would play, you know, and so that's how I started. And that's kind of what I did for the first few years of playing. I was my dad's rhythm player, and that gave me a chance to just listen to how the songs worked, to just kind of stay there in the bass kind of notes and listen to the melodies and listen to the harmonies, how the vocals work together. And that kind of bluegrass harmony just seeped in my ears, I guess. And later on I got an electric guitar, a little mini Squire Strat and a pig nose amp for Christmas one year. I think I was probably 9 or 10 or so, and that was my first time really trying to play solos and stuff like that. But it was more I was getting into Hendrix and I was playing more, you know, guitar center stuff. When I got into middle school, I wanted to play with people that were my age. You know, I I'd always played with my dad and his friends, and some of them were much older. And I just wanted to play music with people that were into the same stuff as I was, like skateboarding and video games, whatever, you know. And so the only thing that was really going on in my middle School at the time was heavy metal. And I went to a couple shows and I just hated it at first. It was like, this is not music. You know, I don't know what this is, but it ain't music. But I. I just fell into that friend group and then next thing you know, I started. I acquired a taste for this music and then I fell in love with it. But after my bands kept breaking up and falling apart, I kind of got back into Doc Watson at this time and just bluegrass in general. This would have been around the time that stuff was really rough around the house. I remember specifically stealing my mom's old Chevelle one day.

[Sam Brigger]

How old were you?

[Billy Strings]

14, 15, you know, because I'd go over to my parents house and hang out with them and stay there and party. And it's not like I just totally left and disowned them. I just. Once I realized stuff wasn't gonna change, I mean, I didn't end up really moving back there, but I'd go there for a weekend and hung out there a bunch. But I didn't. It wasn't like my home. And so, yeah, I stole my mom's car one day when I was just sitting around getting drunk by myself. And that's how bored I was, and that's how kind of there was nothing to do in this town. I mean, there's 600 people that live here. There's nothing to do. So I was just getting drunk during the day and I stole mom's car and I went down Hayes Road, this old country road with corn fields on either side. And man, I put the pedal to the floor and I just. I was going. And that corn was just a blur on either side. And there was a tape sticking halfway out of the deck, and I pushed it in and I'm like, I wonder what my mom's listening to, right? And then this is what came on. I was in those heavy metal bands and all this stuff, and I hadn't really been listening to bluegrass very much, but I was kind of heartbroken at the way my life was at the time. And when I heard.

[Billy Strings (Singing)]

I Wander To Be.

[Billy Strings]

You know, rank Stranger came on. That's what my mom had in her tape deck. And I just started slowing that old car down until I came to a complete stop. And I just pulled over on the side of the road and I started crying. And I was drunk, you know. But this song hit me right in my heart. In that moment I was like, what am I even doing in these heavy metal bands? Bluegrass is where my heart is this is the music I should be playing. And at that time, I just started hunting for an acoustic guitar, you know, and my friend Zach had one. And one of the first tunes I learned how to actually pick, how to play the lead on and stuff is a thing called Nothing to It. It goes like.

[Billy Strings (Singing)]

Sam.

[Sam Brigger]

Is that one of those licks that you're now tired of or you still like them?

[Billy Strings]

I love it. I mean, yeah, it's still the best. I mean, any of that Doc Watson stuff.

[Sam Brigger]

You decided at some point that, like, playing guitar was your way out, was kind of, like your salvation and a way to get out of the kind of life that your mom and dad were leading. What point, though, did you sort of realize, like, this could. I could make a living doing this. I could really get somewhere. Hopefully get somewhere.

[Billy Strings]

Well, that wasn't until I was about 18 years old or so. I failed all through school. I graduated from an Alternative Ed. The only reason I graduated is because I was selling mushrooms. And I was able to pay this kid 5 bucks per assignment, 25 bucks a week to help me get the answers to algebra so that I could graduate. So I graduated a year late from an Alternative Ed thing. But, you know, I had dropped out several times in those years. They filed truancy on me, all this stuff. I was a complete. I stopped paying attention in sixth grade. You know what I mean? By the time I tried to apply myself, they were talking about trigonometry. I was way late.

[Sam Brigger]

Well, but. So you must have, at some point, like, decided to take this leap of faith, I mean, and just try to make it.

[Billy Strings]

Well, when I graduated high school, I was kind of in this situation where it was like, okay, I need to get out of Ionia because nothing's happening here. And I'm just going to end up going down a bad road if I stay here. I'm going to end up OD'd or in prison or. You know, it's just. It did not look good. The way I felt is in Ionia, it was black and white, gray. And I moved up to Traverse City, Michigan. A friend of mine, Brendan Lauer, bless his beautiful little heart, he had a room and he said, hey, man, you want to come stay up in Traverse City? We need a roommate. Hell, yeah. So I went up to Traverse City, man, and all of a sudden, it was like Technicolor. It was like beaches, and there was, like, microbreweries and art galleries and people like singer songwriters, and there was, like, coffee shops, and people were into, like, art and stuff. And so I started doing a couple open mic nights up there just messing around because this is when I was studying Doc Watson kind of heavy again. I had I got acoustic guitar and I was just sitting at home posting myself with no shirt on frickin YouTube or whatever, you know, trying to show off my new tattoo. But I went and did some open mic nights up there and, man, I played Black Mountain Rag or something and I got a standing ovation and I go, whoa, holy crap. It's like these folks either love Doc Watson or they've never heard anything like this before.

[Sam Brigger]

Your dad taught you how to play guitar. Have you picked out a guitar for your son yet? Do you plan to teach him the way your dad taught you?

[Billy Strings]

Well, he's already got one that he just bangs on the floor. I gave him this. Martin Dreadnought Jr. Used to be my guitar. I just practice on the bus and stuff. And I took tape and I covered up all the pokey parts where the strings are on top and I wrapped them real good. So he can't poke himself on that. Yeah.

[Sam Brigger]

So when are you going to start teaching him how to play the strings?

[Billy Strings]

Oh, man, like I said, he's already gone. He's 10 months and he's just banging on it. But I sing for him all the time. It's always the best. I remember that first night when we got home, the night of my 32nd birthday, the first time I was able to be at home with my son. And I held him and I sang this little song. I'll sing a bit of it for you. He went to sleep in my arms when I was singing this to him. And it's probably the best moment of my entire life, besides maybe just the moment he was born. But there's this little lullaby.

[Billy Strings (Singing)]

Sleep pretty, baby sleeping. Close them pretty by night. Listen while your daddy sings to you.

[Billy Strings]

And I sang that to him and he fell asleep. That was like the best.

[Sam Brigger]

Well, Billy Strings, I want to thank you so much for coming on FRESH AIR today.

[Billy Strings]

Thank you for having me.

[Terry Gross]

Billy Strings latest album is called Live at the Legion. He spoke with Fresh Air's Sam Brigger. Special thanks to Brian McGlynn at Audio Productions in Nashville. This is Fresh Air.

[NPR Announcer]

This message comes from Ritual what makes Ritual vitamins different? Ritual vitamins are made with bioavailable, clinically studied key ingredients as well as the essence of Mint. Get 25% off your first purchase when you visit ritual.com NPR this message comes from Ritual. What makes Ritual vitamins different? Ritual vitamins are made with bioavailable, clinically studied key ingredients and a patented nutrient delivery system that aims to help your body use the nutrients you're getting. Ritual's Essential Multivitamins are made with you and your body in mind and backed by scientific research, filled with key ingredients as well as the essence of mint so you can enjoy taking your vitamins. Get 25% off your first purchase when you visit ritual.com NPR this message comes from Ritual what makes Ritual Vitamins different? Ritual Vitamins are made with bioavailable, clinically studied key ingredients and a patented nutrient delivery system that aims to help your body use the nutrients you're getting. Ritual's Essential Multivitamins are made with you and your body in mind and backed by scientific research, filled with key ingredients as well as the essence of mint so you can enjoy taking your vitamins. Get 25% off your first purchase when you visit ritual.com NPR the harp has.

[Terry Gross]

Never been commonplace in jazz, but it's not a novelty either. In the 50s, Dorothy Ashby pioneered a space for the instrument, mastering bebop, soul, jazz and other hybrids. Alice Coltrane, a high school classmate of Ashby's, received a harp as a gift from her husband, the legendary saxophonist John Coltrane, and she used it to create a style often called spiritual jazz. Brenda Younger follows in their footsteps, using the harp in many styles of jazz and popular music. For instance, she's played on sessions with Common, Lauryn Hill and the Roots. Younger's own music embraces a broad range of jazz and jazz adjacent styles. On her new recording, Gadabout Season, she plays Coltrane's instrument and updates the style of the great harpist's early recordings.

[Martin Johnson]

That's Brandy Younger's song Reckoning, the lead track on her new recording. There are few trends that distinguish jazz in the 2020s as the rise of the harp. It's the this shimmering grace is perfect for the textural focus of so many composers, and the instrument's history as a cornerstone of spiritual jazz and as a jazz ambassador in related genres provide the perfect entrance for Brandy Younger. On the scene, she's championed the work of her artistic foremothers, and she's played on sessions with Common, Lauryn Hill and the Roots. In that regard, she has many allies among young musicians who dote on different styles. Here, she's joined by fellow rising stars Chewbacca, Micaiah McRaven and Joel Ross on the title track. Unlike Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane, Younger is not alone among harpists. There are others like Edmar Castaneda Destiny Muhammad, Isabel Olivier, to name a few. Younger Style deftly uses her instruments full range. She can give it an assertive weight of a guitar or austere reserve of electronic instruments. The harp's ability to be both chordal and percussive enables her to move freely in a tune. But as a soloist, she can command center stage, as she does on Breaking Point. But that about as insistent as Younger gets, this recording, more so than her others, delves deeply into the spiritual side of jazz. It's not laid back, but it is elegantly minimal music that invites contemplation. It's as if she's creating a safe space for reconsideration, which Alice Coltrane's late 60s and early 70s recordings did. But as she demonstrates on New Panicle rather than retro, it feels very of the moment.

[Terry Gross]

Martin Johnson writes about jazz for the Wall Street Journal and Downbeat. He reviewed Brandy Younger's new album Gadabout Season. Tomorrow on FRESH air, my guest will be Rob Reiner. We'll talk about directing the new sequel to Spinal Tap, the groundbreaking mockumentary about a heavy metal band. We'll also talk about Reiner's remarkable life and career. He directed When Harry Met Sally, the Princess Bride, A Few Good Men Stand By Me and More, and was a star of the sitcom all in the Family. I hope you'll join us. FRESH air's executive producer is Danny Miller. Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham. Our managing producer is Sam Brigger. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Phyllis Myers, Roberto Shorrock, Anne Maria Boldonado, Lauren Krenzel, Monique Nazareth, Thay Chaloner, Susan Yakundi, Anna Bauman and John Sheehan. Our digital media producer is Molly Seavey Nesper. Our consulting visual producer is Hope Wilson. Theresa Madden directed today's show. Our co host is Tanya Moseley. I'm Terry Gross.

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Hey, it's Robin Hilton from NPR Music with some big news for everyone who loves the tiny desk. We're giving away a trip to D.C. to see a Tiny Desk concert in person, hotel and flights included. Learn more and enter for [e-mail] TinyDeskGiveAway. No purchase or donation required for entry. Must be 18 years or older to enter. Links to the entry page and official rules can be [e-mail] tinydeskgiveaway. This message comes from ritual. What makes ritual vitamins different? Ritual vitamins are made with bioavailable, clinically studied key ingredients and a patented nutrient delivery system that aims to help your body use the nutrients you're getting. Ritual's Essential Multivitamins are made with you and your body in mind and backed by scientific research, filled with key ingredients as well as the essence of mint so you can enjoy taking your vitamins. Get 25% off your first purchase when you visit ritual.com NPR.