LEXINGTON, Ky. — Bluegrass guitarist Billy Strings took the stage in Lexington Friday night and announced that his mother, Debra Apostol, has died.

“I’m going to do my best to make it through this,” he told the sold-out crowd at Rupp Arena. “This is probably going to be one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”

Video of the first part of the concert was shared on Strings’ Facebook page.

Strings said he played a show in his native Michigan Thursday night, pulled into Lexington at about 5:40 a.m. Friday and got about three hours’ sleep.

He said he was awakened by a call from his wife, telling him his mother had died in her sleep.

“I just put my shoes on and started walking,” he said.

Strings said he made his way to a “country church,” where a woman prayed with him and sat with him before driving him back to where he is staying.

He said he decided to continue on with Friday night’s show “because that’s what my mom would’ve wanted me to do.”

Instead of a moment of silence, Strings asked the crowd to get loud for his mom, which they did.

And then Strings launched into a song with lyrics made for the moment: “I’ve Just Seen the Rock of Ages.”

Apostol, affectionately known among fans as “Mama Strings,” was an ardent supporter of her son, often dancing in the crowd at concerts, according to the fan page BillyBase.net.

Fans took to social media to offer condolences.

“This speech by Billy Strings announcing the death of his mother at tonight’s concert at Rupp Arena is one of the most powerful expressions of grief I have ever seen,” wrote the X user with the handle @BenGardner87. “What an amazing tribute to the power of live music and community. My deepest condolences to the Apostol family.”

Strings is scheduled to play a second sold-out show at Rupp Arena Saturday night.

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