Billy Strings was the unorthodox star bluegrass needed in the 2010s—a skilled flatpicker and singer with a wholly modern compositional voice. Born in 1992 in Michigan, William Lee Apostol grew up surrounded by domestic chaos and substance abuse, which would provide fodder for highly personal songwriting. He picked up guitar at age five and absorbed traditional bluegrass as well as alternative rock and pop styles, adopting the stage name Billy Strings. His self-released 2016 eponymous EP and 2017 LP Turmoil & Tinfoil served as bold introductions to his unsparing subject matter and refined songcraft, while his heartfelt, richly narrative second LP, Home, made him a rising star. In subsequent years, Strings would intersperse his solo recordings with collaborations, including with outlaw legend Willie Nelson (“California Sober”) and younger pop-country royalty like Luke Combs (“The Great Divide”) and Dierks Bentley (“High Note”).