Billy Strings has broken his leg. The bluegrass singer, guitar virtuoso, and avid skateboarder was attempting a skateboard trick backstage after his show in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday night, when he wiped out, breaking his left leg.
“Well, can’t say y’all didn’t warn me about screwing around on my skateboard!! Saturday night I walked off stage right before the encore,” he wrote on Instagram. “I was all zazzed up from a really fun show. I grabbed my board and tried to do a trick I’ve done a million times (back 180) and landed awkwardly and broke my leg. I heard it snap over the screaming crowd!”
Strings shared a carousel post of him in the hospital bed, along with some gnarly x-rays of the screws and plates they used to fix the injury in surgery.
“It’s been an interesting couple days to say the least complete with the most extreme pain and crazy ketamine trips and operations stuff but the staff here at UVA rules. They screwed me all back together,” he wrote.
Strings also said he initially planned to continue with his tour and use the same chair that Dave Grohl toured with when he had his own injury. “He even texted me and offered me the throne!” Strings said.
In the end, however, he decided to reschedule some upcoming gigs. “I should probably let this thing heal,” he wrote.
Strings was near the tail end of his spring tour when the accident happened and had just completed a two-night stand at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville. Shows scheduled for April 22 in Charleston, West Virginia, and a three-night run in Fishers, Indiana, have been postponed to August.
The Grammy-winning musician’s next slated tour date is a July 2 Austin City Limits taping in Austin, and an appearance at Willie Nelson’s Fourth of July Picnic on July 4.
While Strings made an official statement on Monday, he all but confirmed the injury on Sunday when he posted the set list to Saturday night’s show along with an image of his x-ray. Fans also apparently were monitoring local 911 logs and put two-and-two together when an ambulance was called to the arena.
