Billy’s Big 2024 Of Sit-Ins: Revisit Billy Strings Bountiful Surprise Guest Appearances

Billy Strings has continued his upward trajectory in 2024. The past five years have been huge for the guitarist, winning prestigious awards, stepping up to arenas and more. Much of this is due to Strings’ sheer talent, which evokes immediate respect from both listeners and musicians alike.

But that respect has manifested itself in a more tangible way in the past couple years in the form of notable sit-ins with musicians who have influenced Billy. It’s a safe bet that Strings would trade accolades and venue capacity increases for time onstage with his heroes. This year has seen several high-profile guest spots for the guitarist spanning genres from bluegrass to jam, Americana to metal. In this article, JamBase gathers together 10 of Billy Strings’ most memorable guest appearances of 2024.

Phish

Starting in the jam sphere, a historic sit-in took place when Billy joined Phish on August 6 and 7 during the latter’s two-night stand at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, near where William Apostol hails from. Pretty much any guest with Phish is historic these days, but Strings was the first musician in nearly 25 years to guest with the band at two consecutive shows. Billy penned a heartfelt note after the “surreal experience,” thanking “Trey, Page, Mike, and Jon.”

Peter Rowan & Sam Grisman

A guest spot in Strings’ bluegrass wheelhouse took place on August 17 when Billy joined bluegrass legend Peter Rowan and Sam Grisman, son of bluegrass legend David Grisman, at the UC Theater in Berkeley, California. The guest spot came after Strings performed nearby at the Greek Theatre and saw Billy along with bandmate fiddler Alex Hargreaves getting in on the concert celebrating Peter and Sam’s dad’s bluegrass supergroup, Old & In The Way, which also included Jerry Garcia, Vassar Clements and John Kahn.

Sierra Ferrell

On to Americana, which counts bluegrass as a progenitor, Billy Strings and fellow meteoric riser Sierra Ferrell swapped guest spots at the Under The Big Sky festival in Whitefish, Montana in July. Among the highlights was Sierra contributing to Billy’s cover of Cher’s “Believe” and Billy joining Ferrell’s set for “Bells Of Every Chapel.”

Zach Bryan

The bluegrass and country worlds are also closely related and collided when Strings sat in with country sensation Zach Bryan at Ohio’s Buckeye Country Superfest, where Strings and his band also performed in June. Billy added to Bryan’s always rowdy, “Revival.”

Post Malone

Just ahead of Buckeye Country Superfest, Billy joined his old pal Post Malone — who is executing his own country crossover — during Posty’s set at Bonnaroo. Billy picked on a pair of tunes from Post Malone’s 2018 LP, beerbongs & bentleys.

Del McCoury Band

Also in June, Strings was among the guests for another towering bluegrass figure, Del McCoury, during Del McCoury Band’s Bluegrass Nights at The Ryman concert in Nashville. The concert boasted three generations of hot pickers and also saw guest spots from John Oates and Lukas Nelson.

Greensky Bluegrass

Sharing Michigan roots, Billy Strings and Greensky Bluegrass collaborated extensively this year. Strings — along with Sam Bush and Daniel Donato — joined GSBG during their two-night, winter tour closing stand at the Ryman in March. The guitarist resumed his role as Greensky guest when the quintet came to Grand Rapids in June.

Primus

Turning more to the metal realm, Strings jumped into the mix with his fishing buddy and collaborator bassist Les Claypool during Primus’ set on the Sessanta Tour stop near Nashville. The trek also included Puscifer and A Perfect Circle, both led by Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan (the tour celebrated Maynard’s 60th birthday). Strings joined Primus for their classic “Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver.”

Flesh and Blood Robot

Billy Strings is well versed in metal as a longtime fan of the genre. Growing up in Michigan, he loved local band Flesh and Blood Robot, who recently reunited in Grand Rapids for their first concert in 18 years. Billy was on hand for the Michigan metal night and sat in with his childhood heroes. In recapping the concert Strings wrote that Flash and Blood Robot were “my first ‘big brothers’ in a band who I really looked up to, and who I saw and thought ‘I could do that someday.’”

Tool

Billy also reveled in his hard rock roots when he joined metal titans Tool in Salt Lake City last fall. Billy reprised his guest spot with Maynard and company in early 2024 when Tool came to Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, kicking off Billy’s eventful 2024 as a guest musician.

Billy Strings summer tour continues at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Friday. Find the guitarist’s itinerary and ticket info below.