Billy Strings (born William Lee Apostol, October 3, 1992) is an American guitarist and bluegrass musician. He won a Grammy Award in 2021.
Billy Strings was born William Lee Apostol on October 3, 1992, in Lansing, Michigan. His father died of a heroin overdose when he was two and his mother remarried Terry Barber, an accomplished amateur bluegrass musician. Billy regards Barber as his father. The family moved to Morehead, Kentucky, then to Muir, Michigan. While he was still a pre-teen his parents became addicted to methamphetamine. He left the family home at the age of thirteen and himself went through a period of hard-drug usage. His family eventually achieved sobriety; Billy stopped using hard drugs and drinking alcohol.
Barber was a heavy influence on his stepson, introducing him to traditional bluegrass artists at a young age, including Doc Watson, Del McCoury, David Grisman, Bill Monroe, John Hartford, Ralph Stanley, Earl Scruggs, and Larry Sparks. Strings is also a rock and metal fan, influenced by Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter, Widespread Panic, Phish, Grateful Dead, Def Leppard, Between the Buried and Me, and Black Sabbath, and played in hard rock and indie rock bands in his teens.

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