Billy Strings may have built a career in bluegrass music, but the Grammy-winning can still shred some metal riffs. Recently, Strings was spotted on stage with Michigan metal band Flesh and Blood Robot. In some footage the band shared on Instagram, Strings takes the stage alongside the longtime Lansing musicians during a reunion show with From A Second Story Window, Nights Like These, Heartsick, Dust Biters, and Strangers.
Speaking to the Lansing State Journal, Strings’ mother explained that he was a fan of the band in his younger years, so this was a “full circle” moment for him. “It’s a reunion with friends and family,” Debra Apostol said. “From his early childhood bluegrass roots, to his teenage years playing in heavy metal bands with his friends, and then his return to bluegrass to this metal show, it brings everything full circle. For him to be able to do this, and for his fans, friends, and former bandmates to be able to come to a show like this – it rocks.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Flesh and Blood Robots drummer Nico Killips revealed that the band had previously connected with Strings to practice so that they could surprise the audience. “We met up in Pittsburgh for a rehearsal while he was on tour. He came in and hugged all of us. I remember him well,” he explained. “The best part was that Billy showed up at the first rehearsal in Pittsburgh wearing a vintage Flesh and Blood Robots T-shirt. He remembered our names.”
Strings is an accomplished musician who has released three full-length studio albums to date, the second of which, Home, earned him the Best Bluegrass Album award at the 2021 Grammys. His most recent, Renewal, was released in 2021. Notably, Strings’ show with Flesh and Blood Robot follows the bluegrass star joining iconic metal band Tool on stage at a Utah show in October and then again at a Nashville show in January.
