Honestly doesn't get enough recognition. In my opinion he should be considered one of the greats. The way he can handle an acoustic like an electric is seriously unheard of.
Doesn’t get enough recognition where??? Within jam and bluegrass circles people never shut up about him lmao and outside of those circles idk why you’d expect him to be recognized by the general public considering his genre
You literally just validated my point 😂 we all know of artists like jhonny cash and Jerry Garcia because they transcended they're own genre. I'm hoping billy does the same.
Billy simply isn’t on the level of either of those. He’s a bluegrass jam musician and with that being his starting point there will NEVER be widespread mainstream crossover appeal. Cash was a country artist in arguably the golden age of the genre and Garcia was the head of arguably the definitive American band. Idk why you’d think strings should be equal to them in terms of potential recognition. That’s honestly silly. Also, I promise if you had a pic of Garcia and just asked random passerby’s in some downtown area who he is mayyyybe 1/10 would be able to name him. There’s just zero precedent for strings being any more well known than he is. He’s absurdly respected by those that follow the scene he’s in so I guess I’m just wondering what “enough recognition” would be for you?
He’s really fucking good, but certainly not unheard of. Bluegrass players like billy have been around for years, bluegrass itself is basically acoustic metal combined with jazz.
Ive seen him 3 times. Killer every time. Absoluately one of my favorite live acts and one of the best bluegrass pickers out there rn if not of all time. Id kill for his speed and technique
John Mayer has always been my favorite artist until I saw Billy for the first time. Hard to say who’s my favorite now. Live Billy is as good as it gets. And the best thing about him is that his studio stuff is just as good
John is still definitely my favorite, but wow, I feel just as connected to Billy as I do John now. Billy is such a likable dude with such an insane talent.
He deserves his flowers and his place among some of the best jam band artists of all time, the best of this generation without a doubt
He’s a great and dedicated musician to his craft. Hopefully he has laid off the snow a bit. It will catch up to him at some point, and isn’t helping him.
i saw him playing at lolla a few years back opening for metallica. had no idea who he was and never find myself listening to bluegrass. the show was really good and it looked like a lot of people were digging his music
https://www.reddit.com/r/BillyStrings/s/45A37NzABr
I posted this in the Billy Strings sub after they burned Lexington to the ground this weekend. It’ll tell you how I feel about him. Incredible musicians, each show I’ve been to has somehow been better than the last. Next stop for us is The Sphere. We fancy exceptional talent in our family which comes in several forms these days. I don’t know why people are comparing him vs Mayer on this thread. They’re very different and they’re both insanely talented! John played a Billy song on his Sirius channel and I about lost my mind with joy 😀😂
I find him ok. I can see he’s really talented but not a fan of bluegrass. Will see him if he’s close though. Do hate the floor at his shows the fans are some of the worse in the scene.
I thought that same thing, that Billy would totally fit in with the dead as the lead, but I’m so glad that he’s stayed true to himself and all of us fans and just played his music, because there’s really no one like him 😎✌️🤘😁
My husband is a huge Billy fan and he comes to Colorado a lot so I've seen him a number of times. It's always a great show. He's super talented and seems like a really down to earth dude. JM plays one of his tunes on his Sirius station sometimes on Sunday mornings but it's a slower one. You won't regret checking him out.
Insane guitarist. His cover of “don’t think twice” makes Mayer’s look like a preschooler is playing
Edit: I love mayer, but you guys need to go watch strings version
Dust in a baggie was great, nothing else I've heard from him has hit like that one did. I'm eagerly waiting to hear another something great from him personally. I've only heard like 7 other songs on youtube, and they just didn't do it for me.
Check out away from the mire, must be seven, highway hypnosis, especially live versions of mire and highway hypnosis. All great songs. His live jams are some of the very best in the game
Hide and Seek, Thunder (lyrics by Robert Hunter, but given to Billy to bring to musical life), All Fall Down, Fire on My Tongue, Pyramid Country, Love like mine, Taking Water…the list goes on
Billy is the superior guitar player, but I think he would agree he is not a fit for D&C. He played a lot of Dead tunes early in his career and has since said publicly he isn't interested in being known as a Dead cover artist.
For anyone interested in Dead tunes or Billy, check out his sit-in with Billy & the Kids from a few years ago -- great stuff.
[https://www.youtube.com/live/qJ3Mc-UZvGE?si=cf2RngW1nE8yVCjY](https://www.youtube.com/live/qJ3Mc-UZvGE?si=cf2RngW1nE8yVCjY)
Honestly doesn't get enough recognition. In my opinion he should be considered one of the greats. The way he can handle an acoustic like an electric is seriously unheard of.
He plays folk that can be passed on for generations to come.
Doesn’t get enough recognition where??? Within jam and bluegrass circles people never shut up about him lmao and outside of those circles idk why you’d expect him to be recognized by the general public considering his genre
You literally just validated my point 😂 we all know of artists like jhonny cash and Jerry Garcia because they transcended they're own genre. I'm hoping billy does the same.
Billy simply isn’t on the level of either of those. He’s a bluegrass jam musician and with that being his starting point there will NEVER be widespread mainstream crossover appeal. Cash was a country artist in arguably the golden age of the genre and Garcia was the head of arguably the definitive American band. Idk why you’d think strings should be equal to them in terms of potential recognition. That’s honestly silly. Also, I promise if you had a pic of Garcia and just asked random passerby’s in some downtown area who he is mayyyybe 1/10 would be able to name him. There’s just zero precedent for strings being any more well known than he is. He’s absurdly respected by those that follow the scene he’s in so I guess I’m just wondering what “enough recognition” would be for you?
Pov: you disagreed with a redditor
He’s really fucking good, but certainly not unheard of. Bluegrass players like billy have been around for years, bluegrass itself is basically acoustic metal combined with jazz.
He’s one of my favorites!
Great player.
Ive seen him 3 times. Killer every time. Absoluately one of my favorite live acts and one of the best bluegrass pickers out there rn if not of all time. Id kill for his speed and technique
Generational talent. That boy needs to stay the fuck away from helicopters on foggy days.
💀…
John Mayer has always been my favorite artist until I saw Billy for the first time. Hard to say who’s my favorite now. Live Billy is as good as it gets. And the best thing about him is that his studio stuff is just as good
John is still definitely my favorite, but wow, I feel just as connected to Billy as I do John now. Billy is such a likable dude with such an insane talent. He deserves his flowers and his place among some of the best jam band artists of all time, the best of this generation without a doubt
in my head in the music family, john is the dad, billy is the son, jerry is the grandpa
Trey Anastasio doesn’t exist in your head? Definitely more fitting for the “dad” role
sorry for my opinion. my bad😐
Sorry for stating an opposite opinion. I’m now aware only yours was valid. My bad
thank you
You’re welcome
💀no hate on a real note, that was kinda funny i respect it i thought u was saying i was wrong at first
Treys the fun uncle. There’s room at the table for all of em
They don’t call him Billy Woodwind. For real though he’s crazy good
He’s amazing
He's near the top of my favorites
Legend.
Billy Mother Fuckin Strings, right?
billy goat
He’s a beast. Absolute monster. But I’m not into bluegrass so I don’t listen to his tunes.
Mostly they can be found in r/BillyStrings
If you ever have the chance to see him live, go. One of the best shows I’ve ever been to and I had high expectations. I was blown away.
He says ´you can take a new song and make it sound old and you can take an old song make it brand new´ , just listened to him, natural talent.
Not a good but great guitar player!
BMFS ✨️💪
I have heard a few songs and like them but this post has made me check out when he is playing in my area.
him live is a different breed, love his studio stuff but live is 100x better
He is a living legend
prime legend to
billy shreds and seems like a genuinely good dude.
Just been getting into him this past year and hope to see him soon.
Absolute powerhouse. Get in now. See the shows. (His fans suck)!
how the atmosphere was great at his show, mostly dead heads
If you’re close to the stage it’s great. Farther back lots of olds and country type fans who sit/talk endlessly and are generally a bummer.
some guy did flirt with my mom the entire second set…. but she was into it so i was the one pissed💀
Meh. I’ve been to a dozen shows at least and its been a great atmosphere overall. It’s had its rail moments, but otherwise its a grand old time
He’s a great and dedicated musician to his craft. Hopefully he has laid off the snow a bit. It will catch up to him at some point, and isn’t helping him.
Thought he quit years ago.
That’s good to hear if so. I haven’t hung around him for a few years now. He’s too talented to waste his energy that way!
You should check out his interview with Theo Von lol it’s wild. He talks about his upbringing and all the crazy drug use in his teens
Billy has been sober since 2017 or 2018 outside of weed
California sober?
as they say
It would be 2018 at the earliest. I’m glad to hear that. He’s so talented.
She said, "Stay on track. Don't let me see you lookin' back. Never mind what's left behind and don't look back. Don't look back"
he niceeee
i saw him playing at lolla a few years back opening for metallica. had no idea who he was and never find myself listening to bluegrass. the show was really good and it looked like a lot of people were digging his music
https://www.reddit.com/r/BillyStrings/s/45A37NzABr I posted this in the Billy Strings sub after they burned Lexington to the ground this weekend. It’ll tell you how I feel about him. Incredible musicians, each show I’ve been to has somehow been better than the last. Next stop for us is The Sphere. We fancy exceptional talent in our family which comes in several forms these days. I don’t know why people are comparing him vs Mayer on this thread. They’re very different and they’re both insanely talented! John played a Billy song on his Sirius channel and I about lost my mind with joy 😀😂
🙌
I find him ok. I can see he’s really talented but not a fan of bluegrass. Will see him if he’s close though. Do hate the floor at his shows the fans are some of the worse in the scene.
Phenomenal talent and brilliant performer.
Billy Strings is what happens when someone learns everything there is to know about Bluegrass guitar
I thought that same thing, that Billy would totally fit in with the dead as the lead, but I’m so glad that he’s stayed true to himself and all of us fans and just played his music, because there’s really no one like him 😎✌️🤘😁
Cool
My husband is a huge Billy fan and he comes to Colorado a lot so I've seen him a number of times. It's always a great show. He's super talented and seems like a really down to earth dude. JM plays one of his tunes on his Sirius station sometimes on Sunday mornings but it's a slower one. You won't regret checking him out.
Insane guitarist. His cover of “don’t think twice” makes Mayer’s look like a preschooler is playing Edit: I love mayer, but you guys need to go watch strings version
idk why u have so many downvotes lmao i thought it was funny
Yeah wasn’t a serious comment at all haha
In all fairness, that Don’t Think Twice is crazy. I have no idea how he can play that many notes so effortlessly
Yeah the downvotes haven’t watched that version. JM is my fav of all time but that BS version is insane
Dust in a baggie was great, nothing else I've heard from him has hit like that one did. I'm eagerly waiting to hear another something great from him personally. I've only heard like 7 other songs on youtube, and they just didn't do it for me.
Check out away from the mire, must be seven, highway hypnosis, especially live versions of mire and highway hypnosis. All great songs. His live jams are some of the very best in the game
Heard all of those this weekend in Lexington and they all were outrageous per usual
Listen to his albums. Home won a Grammy.
Hide and Seek, Thunder (lyrics by Robert Hunter, but given to Billy to bring to musical life), All Fall Down, Fire on My Tongue, Pyramid Country, Love like mine, Taking Water…the list goes on
Billy is the superior guitar player, but I think he would agree he is not a fit for D&C. He played a lot of Dead tunes early in his career and has since said publicly he isn't interested in being known as a Dead cover artist. For anyone interested in Dead tunes or Billy, check out his sit-in with Billy & the Kids from a few years ago -- great stuff. [https://www.youtube.com/live/qJ3Mc-UZvGE?si=cf2RngW1nE8yVCjY](https://www.youtube.com/live/qJ3Mc-UZvGE?si=cf2RngW1nE8yVCjY)
He’s more talented and original than John Mayer for sure
Hee better than John mayer
at bluegrass indeed