Song of the Day 1/29: Billy Strings, “Gild the Lily”

I don’t think this song, released last fall, made it onto any of El Somnambulo’s monthly new music roundups, but it’s gotten lots of airplay on WXPN. Beware – it wormed its way into my ear, and my method of banishing earworms involves featuring them as Songs of the Day.

Billy Strings (real name: William Apostol) had a harrowing upbringing. He was introduced to bluegrass by his stepfather, an amateur musician, but his mother and stepfather both became meth addicts. Billy left home at 13 and fell into addiction himself, but eventually cleaned up (as did his parents). He turned pro at 20 and within a few years was hailed as a prodigy. He has topped the bluegrass charts, but with his latest LP, “Highway Prayers,” released last September, he moved from Rounder to Reprise. The major label push helped it reach No. 22 on the Billboard 200, and he seems poised to cross over.

In concert Strings segues into “Gild the Lily” from a spot-on cover of Blind Melon’s “No Rain,” with both songs enhanced by extended guitar solos.