After escaping opioid-ravaged Michigan, he spent 10 years gigging relentlessly before turning his experiences into a Grammy-winning album in 2019. Next stop? Mainstream success
Billy Strings didn’t believe in panic attacks until he had one. On tour a few years ago, he woke up in a hotel room at 5am, convinced he was dying. “My hands were tingling, my lips were purple, I couldn’t breathe,” he says. “It felt like an elephant was standing on my chest.”
Terrified, Strings went to hospital. By the end of the day, he had a prescription for the benzodiazepine alprazolam (sold under brand names including Xanax) and a therapist, whom he still sees regularly.
