09/03/2026
Hometown hero!
When Billy Strings brought over 28,000 of his fans to his hometown of Ionia, MI over the weekend for his inaugural Ionia Freak Fair, most—if not all—didn’t know that the sold-out festival was actually a benefit for the city. In an interview with MLive, Strings revealed that a portion of the profits from merch sales have already been sent to Ionia Public Schools and that additional proceeds will help pay for a new roof on the Ionia Theatre, where the Grammy-winning bluegrass guitarist first performed at age 6.
“I don’t think a lot of people know this, but that was a charity event,” Strings said. “I’m not making any money off that party that I just threw. Once everybody’s paid, all the vendors, the riggers, the engineers, the people that built the stage, [the other artists] … whatever profit is left, it’s just going right back to the city of Ionia.
“That was the plan the whole time,” he continued. “I didn’t necessarily put it out there … but it was always supposed to be that way.”
After more than 20,000 fans showed up for the first day of the festival on Friday, August 28th, the crowd grew to over 28,000 on Saturday, making it the largest headlining performance of Strings’ career. The festival included additional performances from some of Strings’ close friends and collaborators, including Greensky Bluegrass, Leftover Salmon, Sierra Hull, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, and Full Cord, plus a metal tent with Cryptopsy, For the Fallen Dreams, Flesh and Blood Robot, Heartsick, and Bane.
“I was happy that Ionia welcomed us with open arms, and all my fans behaved,” he said, adding that he wasn’t aware of any arrests or fights at the festival. “It felt like a good way to kind of pay it back, you know, for being such a knucklehead when I was growing up. I’m just so honored by what happened this weekend.”
Given the festival’s overwhelmingly positive reception from fans and the city of Ionia alike, many have wondered whether the Freak Fair will return for a second year.
“It’s kind of just a rumor at this point,” Strings said. “I’ve heard that too. People asking, ‘I heard you guys were doing it for five years.’ I would love to keep it going. I’ll have to get with my team… but as far as I know, there’s no set plan to continue it. It was kind of supposed to be a one-and-done sort of thing, but I’m not sure. It’s possible that we could try again.”
