BILLY STRINGS

Imagine taking a hardcore heavy metal band like Pantera and cramming all that energy into the body of a 21-year-old bluegrass guitarist. That’s Billy Strings. He tears up the stage during his set, grimacing, growling, head-banging and tearing the holy sh*t out of a set of super-charged Americana. Kid can pick! DAMN can he pick!  It’s acoustic music with a punk edge and a lot of youthful enthusiasm and, oh man, that PICKING!  Strings covers a wide variety of classic tunes and songs in his show, from a slow-burning cover of “Wild Bill Jones” to a raw cover of “Cocaine Blues” or picking delights like “Red Haired Boy” and “Soldier’s Joy.” But the standout track is the opening song, “Dust in a Baggie”, a cleverly written mountain song about meth that manages to take a very current and destructive issue and translate it into the bluegrass vernacular. It’s a tour-de-force, written by Strings himself, and is the moment you realize just how far this kid’s gonna go." — D.L. "THE BLUEGRASS SITUATION"

The Wheelhouse Rousters draw not only their moniker and musical style from the river and it’s industry, but their ebb and flow of energy. Focusing on long forgotten songs gathered by Mary Wheeler of Paducah, KY, the Rousters give a new twist to old tones.

Having performed with various artist upon notable boats such as the Delta Queen, Queen of the Mississippi, River Barge Explorer, Belle of Louisville and the Spirit of Peoria the members of the Wheelhouse Rousters have also opened for such acts as Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three, Shooter Jennings, JD Wilkes and the Dirt Daubers, and Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper.

In 2014 the band released their first studio album, Steamboatin’  and were featured artist at the The Belle of Louisville’s Centennial Festival of Riverboats. The bands second studio album recorded live at the Historic Hotel Metropolitan in Paducah, is set to be released in the Summer of 2016.