Before his concert in Lexington, Kentucky on Friday (June 20), bluegrass superstar Billy Strings shared an emotional announcement with the crowd where he revealed that his beloved mother, Debra Apostol, had died in her sleep earlier that day. “This is probably going to be one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” a grieving, distraught Strings said from the stage. “How tonight’s gonna turn out is kinda up in the air, it depends on how much strength I can muster and how much I can lean on y’all.” Strings said he was going to perform that night “because that’s what my mom would’ve wanted me to do.” “She really loved this group of people,” he said to the crowd. “The last couple years were some of her happiest because of a lot of you folks right here. Y’all became some of her best friends, and I really want to thank you for that. The reason I decided not to go home and be with my family right now is because I already am.” (Consequence of Sound)