Bill was raised on a farm in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley in the town of Mt. Jackson. Cultivating his love of music early he played violin in his elementary school orchestra. By high school, he was performing in choir and marching band and had started his first band for hire the "Buck Hill Express". With "BHE" he played dances and local clubs up and down the Shenandoah from Winchester to Harrisonburg and started writing his own music. Bill continued his education, earning a Bachelors degree in Arts Management with a minor in Music, Theatre & Business from Ferrum College .
In 1986 Bill started performing on the Outer Banks as a cast member of The Lost Colony. He has traveled to England performing at the Harrogate International Youth Festival; Youghal, Ireland as a member of Elizabeth R and Company (ER&Co.), and founded the Outer Banks Opry - a popular local folk and bluegrass showcase in the early 2000's. He played as a member of the blue grass band The Sandy Mountain Boys, the Carolina Country Band, the Duck Ridge Boys Hillbillie Jazz Ensemble, The Crowd and others. He completed two seasons playing double bass for ER&Co. in the tribute show "Portrait of Patsy Cline" and is currently working with several ensembles, most notably The Other Brothers, Partly Crowdy and the Rea Family Trio (a jazz ensemble featuring his oldest daughter Katelyn Stetson). Bill is also a member of the popular gospel band The Captains Crew . Along with his busy performance schedule, Bill maintains a shop where he repairs stringed instruments and offers private music instruction with his wife Becki in their home studio in Manteo NC.