DelFest, the annual event hosted by Del McCoury, is often described as a bluegrass festival, even though only a minority of the acts are traditional bluegrass bands. Many a casual observer assumes ...

Hopping off the tailgate of his Sprinter touring van, Billy Strings readies himself for a rollicking set at the inaugural Railbird festival in Lexington, Kentucky. The six-string virtuoso grabs his ...

The music drifted down from Appalachia, from the front porches of English and Scottish immigrants who plucked and strummed the string instruments of their homelands. Along the way, someone added ...

In his mid-teens, Billy Strings was the lead guitarist in a Grand Rapids, Michigan, prog-rock band called A Day of Moments. He was a high school dropout and hadn’t touched an acoustic guitar in years.

In the early days of bluegrass music, two companies were largely responsible for creating that sound – Martin, for its guitars, and Gibson, for its mandolins and banjos. Even today, bluegrass ...

Rising progressive bluegrass artist Billy Strings said he had an immense “sense of joy” when he told his parents he’s playing at the legendary Ryman Auditorium. Strings, born William Apostol, will ...

The Red & Black is a 501c3 nonprofit. Please consider a one-time gift or become a monthly supporter. Cancel anytime. An acoustic guitar is usually a staple of a mellow show, but Billy Strings shredded ...

PITTSBURGH ― Just when you think he can't strum his guitar any faster, Billy Strings digs deeper within and finds an even faster gear. Strings' supersonic yet smooth shredding electrified Tuesday's ...

If bluegrass remained frozen within the confines set by traditionalists, it wouldn’t have much more to say. The songs might be new, but the genre itself would cease to evolve.