Guitar phenomenon Billy Strings has played a lot in Southwest Virginia over the years — Rooster Walk, FloydFest, Jefferson Center, Harvester Performance Center, the erstwhile Rives Theater.
But he hasn’t played around these parts since he brought bluegrass to arena-sized audiences. That changed this month, with the announcement that the picker and singer born William Apostol is playing Berglund Center on July 14. No opening act will be scheduled.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday for the coliseum concert, and one would be wise to grab them asap. Tickets will be going for $74.50, $69.50, $59.50, $49.50 and $39.50 in a venue that can hold more than 10,000. Presales have already started at ticketmaster.com. Berglund Center posted this presale link — bit.ly/BCCyberClubTicketMaster.
Strings and his band have been selling out venues in the U.S., as well as Europe and Australia, over the past few years. His spring tour dates start with nine sellouts out of the first 10 shows, including four consecutive full houses at the Explore Asheville arena, in North Carolina, and one of two nights sold out to date at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.
The soft-spoken Michigan native who grew up on hard rock before switching to bluegrass music has made as big an impact on the music as anyone since the original Bluegrass Boy, Bill Monroe.
His incendiary flatpicking, salt-of-the-earth singing and top-caliber backing band deliver strong original songs, a depth of unexpected cover songs in multiple genres and more than a hint of psychedelia. The latter has brought along jamband fans who were likely predisposed to enjoying bluegrass but weren’t so interested in hidebound tradition.
The act is bringing diverse audiences together in a way that the likes of New Grass Revival did in the 1970s and 1980s, but at hyperscale. Check out his catalog, including the latest, “Highway Prayers,” at billystrings.com/#music.
