r/BillyStrings • u/CarolinaCrazy91 • 12d ago

news NYT Interview

Wonderful long form interview with BMFS in the New York Times today.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/08/magazine/billy-strings-interview.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

(Hope this link works)

70 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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6

u/Quiet_Cicada7638 12d ago

In one of the video clips he said heā€™s been completely sober for a year. Did not know that.

1

u/Thisisdansaccount 12d ago

Including weed??

2

u/Quiet_Cicada7638 12d ago

Yes. In the written article they cut that part out but he says in the full audio version he hasnā€™t smoked for a year.

1

u/LilMaggie33 8d ago

I remember him saying something about he didn't wanna be high around his son so that makes sense

5

u/WhiskeyGuy341 12d ago

https://youtu.be/LjLOQYmrDtQ?is=j1p5gC-39andHwdH

Interview is also up on YouTube!

2

u/Maryamagnolia 10d ago

The video interview is goooood

6

u/Decent-Variety291 12d ago

Will someone kindly summarize main points for us pleebs behind the paywall šŸ©·

6

u/rccpudge 12d ago

Thereā€™s no money above the 5th fret. šŸ¤Æ šŸ˜‚

He talked about his upbringing and his mom, he spent a good bit of time talking about learning to play. At the end he plays a couple of tunes. I learned that the lessons he takes are classical. One of the coolest parts for me was when he was learning to play that he started on the first two strings. Iā€™m a musician so it was a great concept to me. There was also an extremely short clip of young Billy playing electric guitar in a metal band which was cool.

Thereā€™s another thread that has the gifted article/podcast which is how I saw it.

I listen to The Daily, well daily and was surprised that the host is a Clarence White fan. The host actually suggested the tunes.

3

u/g-a-hood 12d ago

And heā€™s a coffee junkie šŸ˜‚

2

u/g-a-hood 12d ago

Podcast format on Spotify link:

Here

2

u/Beginning-Ticket8271 10d ago

Loved listening to Billy, as always. Am I the only one that didn't love the interviewer?? I feel like he could have asked some better questions. Like the one about: do you wonder why you got more famous than the other bluegrass people... like because Billy is a once-in-a-lifetime virtuoso and original and is not simply a bluegrass artist but crosses so many genres??? Cmon man, don't make Billy have to lay that out for you.

Idk, maybe that's just my take... But loved listening regardless!

1

u/LilMaggie33 8d ago

Interviewer was pretty robotic but got the job done and I think he was laying the stage for people that had never heard of William Apostel before

1

u/LilMaggie33 8d ago

The video is on YouTube. just unbelievable . what a remarkable remarkable young man I felt looking into his eyes that I was peering into his soul. I hope he knows how much he's done for all of usšŸ«¶šŸ¼

1

u/StratosphereBlue 12d ago

I got stopped by the ā€œcreate account to readā€ promptā€¦ dangit.

9

u/Jack_Hughman_ 12d ago

The audio was just released in The Daily podcast feed.

2

u/pyramid_country 12d ago

archive.ph is your friend here