Meet Me & Dad At The Creek: Billy Strings & Terry Barber Make Surprise Appearance With Judd Apatow At Barkus Park

Billy Strings returned to a special place and treated fans to an unannounced performance on Friday. Strings dropped by a fan art event held at Barkus Park in his native Michigan and picked tunes with his father Terry Barber. Famed filmmaker Judd Apatow was on hand to document the visit and recorded interviews with Strings, Barber and fans.

Young William Apostol spent lots of time picking at his uncle Brad Lasko’s campground, Barkus Park. “There was always picking going on, partying and sitting around the fire playing music,” Strings told Northern Express back in 2012. “Some nights, we’d sit around the campfire playing. There were also some bluegrass festivals there. That place later turned into a crazy Breaking Bad scene but when I was just starting out playing with my dad, those were some of my happiest days,” the guitarist explained of Barkus Park to Relix in 2021.

In 2022, Billy Strings and Terry Barber released the Grammy-nominated album, ME/AND/DAD. The cover features a photo of Strings and Barber captured decades earlier at Barkus Park. The campground also inspired “Meet Me At The Creek,” one of the Strings’ most beloved songs.

Barkus Park hosted Momma Strings BMFS Fan Art sale on Friday, September 13 and Saturday, September 14. Billy Strings stopped in on Friday. Footage of Strings and Terry Barber performing Doc Watson’s version of the traditional blues song “Alberta” has surfaced. Watch below:

A film crew can be seen in the footage and photos of Apatow speaking with Strings and members of his family have also popped up on social media. Judd Apatow has been working on an as-of-yet announced project featuring Billy Strings. The guitarist and the filmmaker were among those who appeared at a benefit hosted by Mike Birbiglia last month at Largo in Los Angeles.

Watch a clip of Strings sitting for an on-camera interview with Apatow in August below:

Check out more photos from Billy Strings’ Friday afternoon visit to Barkus Park:

Billy Strings will host Renewal 2024 in Buena Vista, Colorado on September 27 and 28. Strings’ long-awaited new album, Highway Prayers, arrives on the 27th.