After escalating to multi-night arena runs and hitting the road hard in recent years, Billy Strings is putting some of his hard-earned money to a good cause by financially backing a new housing project for extremely low-income renters in Grand Rapids, MI.
The Grammy-winning Michigan native recently contributed $75,000 to Grand Rapids-based nonprofit Well House to help fund the organization’s plan to build eight new rental housing units that will provide permanent, low-cost housing options for individuals and families who are experiencing chronic homelessness, have mental or physical disabilities, or who lack access to housing through traditional markets.
“Each year, throughout the year, we make several donations to different organizations, and my business manager presents me with a couple options,” Strings told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business. “I told her to look around my hometown, and she found Well House, and it just resonated with me. I grew up around there, and I’ve seen the homeless population in downtown Grand Rapids. Whenever (I was) down there, skateboarding and such, I’d try to give a few bucks here and there. … Now that I’m grown up, it feels nice to give back to the community.”
Strings, who was born in Lansing and raised in Muir in Ionia County, dealt with housing insecurity and drug abuse as a youth and has given to various causes over the years. One of his favorite charities is the Nashville Rescue Mission, which provides assistance to individuals experiencing homelessness and addiction in his new hometown.
“As far as I could tell from my conversation with his manager, he’s very socially conscious and very aware of the disenfranchised, given his history and his background,” said John Glover, executive director of Well House.
Strings’ donation will cover a portion of the $2.4 million needed to for the three housing projects, which are expected to break ground in May and be finished by the end of the year. Once complete, they will be reserved for individuals and families making 30% or less of area median income, which the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development classifies as “extremely low income.”
In other Billy Strings news, the guitarist just announced a once-in-a-lifetime underplay at Nashville’s American Legion Post 82, with a 3 o’clock matinee and 8 p.m. late show with fellow bluegrass picker Bryan Sutton. Fans can sign up on his website for a chance to be chosen at random for tickets. He also has upcoming summer tour dates.
Exclusive to the nugs app, official audio from Billy Strings’ recently wrapped 2024 winter tour is now up for streaming and order. Stretching from Asheville to Atlanta, the tour featured a highlight three-night run in Nashville with a plethora of special guests, including Béla Fleck, Sam Bush, Molly Tuttle, Bryan Sutton, 12-year-old viral sensation Myles Gee, and more. For a limited time, subscribers can also still watch all eight shows. Learn more and subscribe to access all the Billy Strings winter tour 2024 content on nugs here.
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