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by me, Dave Hill, from Cincinnati Public Radio and the NPR Network. This is Fresh Air. I'm Terry Gross.

Today's guest is Bluegrass Singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Billy Strings.

He spoke with Fresh Air's Sam Brigger.

Here's Sam.

If you ever find yourself at an arena concert where tens of thousands of fans of all ages

are stomping about to the Billman-Rotune Roanoke,

or the classic bluegrass song Old Slewfoot, chances are you're at a Billy String show.

A singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Billy Strings is one of the younger generation of musicians,

carrying the torch for traditional acoustic bluegrass, even while his music

incorporates excursions into exploratory improvisational jams and the occasional heavy-metal

guitar riff. And he's been celebrated by both audiences and the music industry. He's won two

Grammys and Highway Prayers, released in 2024, is the first Bluegrass

album in over 20 years to reach number one on Billboard's All-Genra Top 100 album sales

chart.

That album showcases his songwriting and his terrific band.

Since then, he's released a live album with another Ace Bluegrass guitarist, Brian Sutton,

called Live at the Legion. The duo performed in a more intimate setting than the arena

strings usually plays in these days, the American Legion Post 82 in East Nashville, playing a lot of

music associated with Doc Watson. Let's hear the lead-off track from Live at the Legion, Nashville Blues, originally by the Delmore Brothers.

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