The music world is shifting as an exciting Michigan artist is putting a new spin on an old musical style.

I Think There May Be A Bluegrass Trend Heading Our Way

Ionia County native and bluegrass guitar picker extraordinaire Billy Strings won over a whole new audience for his genre this past weekend at Chicago's Lollapalooza Music Fest.

Strings, electrified the mostly alternative rock crowd with an exciting set that one music web site called 'jaw dropping'.

WhiskeyRiff.com reported that while the Lollapalooza lineup was studded with stars like Metallica and Machine Gun Kelly, it was Strings who may have won the weekend:

...let’s be honest, unless you tuned into the Grammys earlier this year (and actually paid attention), or you’re a bluegrass/country music fan (or maybe even a jam band fan), you’re probably not too familiar with Billy.

Well, folks who went to Lolla sure as hell know the name Billy Strings now… the man was dropping jaws in Grant Park.

Performing Thursday evening on the T-Mobile Stage, Billy had Twitter BUZZING with a number of comments that echoed a very similar sentiment. It went a little something like this: 'I never heard of Billy Strings before, but DAMN.'

 

The Comments Came From Mostly Rock Fans Who Had Never Heard Of Billy

Them? Well, winning fans over to know that Billy Strings just one guy, who HAS a band, takes time.

There's a lot of us who feel that way! It's good to see a guy who worked his butt off to earn his day in the sun finally get it.

The thing about Billy is there is a lot of jam band and rock'n'roll sensibilities about him that make him accessible to all fans. I'm glad to see he rocked Lollapalooza, and his tour is swinging him back by his home state to Kalamazoo and Saginaw in November.

You can view his entire Lollapalooza set below.

The Ten Biggest Ionia Free Fair Shows

Over its long, storied history, the Ionia Free Fair had a knack for bringing in the biggest acts of their day. Here's just a sampling of who has played the main stage over the years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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