Michigan’s bluegrass hero returned to Grand Rapids in late May for two jam-packed, dazzling nights at Van Andel Arena, sparking pre-parties, a marketplace and more. Revisit the hubbub in words and images.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to the No. 1 story of 2025 at Local Spins: Billy Strings’ much-buzzed-about homecoming stand at Van Andel Arena in late May that not only featured two jam-packed nights of bluegrass prowess at the arena, but a “Shakedown” event earlier in the week in Ionia County where he grew up, a vendor marketplace in downtown Grand Rapids and celebratory parties around town. Revisit this milestone week below, including new photos, and check out bonus coverage online here: The Loving Billy Strings Ecosystem
For those uninitiated in the bluegrass universe of Billy Strings, his stratospheric success in a genre once relegated to a cubbyhole of Appalachian music and backporch pickin’ seems incongruous, especially considering the pervasiveness of pop music, mainstream country and rap.
But take one step into that world in an arena filled with rabid fans of all ages and something transcendent happens – newbies are transformed – as this virtuoso guitarist from a tiny Ionia County town masterfully melds the traditional and the non-traditional with equal measures of on-stage passion…