Photo Credit: Jesse Faatz
Music City lived up to its name on Saturday night. After kicking off a three-night stand in Nashville, Tenn., on Friday, Billy Strings followed up last night by retaking the stage at the 20,000-capacity Bridgestone Arena. During the first set, Strings shocked fans by bringing out Derek Trucks, who left his Ryman gig during the set break to sit in on a pair of tunes with the bluegrass golden boy. Later, Strings welcomed another surprise addition, Punch Brothers banjoist Noam Pikelny, who assisted on a trio of covers.
Strings’ Feb. 25 weekend event got underway with a high-powered run-through of “Bronzeback” into “Must Be Seven” and “Meet Me At The Creek” to cap the opening jam. Next, the ensemble–Billy Failing, Royal Masat, Jarrod Walker and Alex Hargreaves–and their namesake landed on the Bob Dylan-penned “Señor (Tales of Yankee Power) before following with “On The Line,” and a pairing off the 2021 released studio LP, Renewal.
Next, Strings spoke directly into his microphone: “Welcome to the stage, Derek Trucks,” which beckoned the decorated artist up to the front of the room. After the musicians embraced and exchanged private words, Strings once again addressed his audience: “It’s kind of funny… Meeting you here, Derek. You guys got to see me meet Derek Trucks for the first time ever. Now, we’re going to play a little bit and see what happens.” He continued, “I said to my friend, [as] I was sitting there playing… It’s like two dogs sitting here sniffing each other’s asses. I’m like checking out his licks, he’s checking out my licks. [Sniffs.] What have you been up to man? That’s what I think this is.”
The pair embraced Widespread Panic’s “Pickin’ Up The Pieces” and capped the number with an exchange of grins. Strings’ commentary continued: “I think he just got dropped off by a helicopter.” Then, the Michigan native added, “He’s just gonna play one more song with us and parachute back to his other gig, I think.” The duo followed up with “Love and Regret” to conclude their live collaboration. After, Trucks dipped back to the Mother Church and Strings finished his first frame with “Away From The Mire” prior to jumping into their set break.
Following a breather, the musicians returned for the second half of their concert and cut into “The Fire on My Tongue” and a cover of “Riding the Midnight Train,” which included birthday recognition for the late Ralph Stanley, who was born on Feb. 25, 1927. To follow, Strings and company ran through “Fire Line” and the Pearl Jam original, “Elderly Woman From Behind The Counter In A Small Town.”
After “Pyramid Country” merged into Robert Hunter’s posthumous triumph “Thunder,” Strings welcomed another guest to the stage, this time, Pikelny, who showed up to assist on choice covers, including a debut of “Polka on a Banjo,” followed by Bill Monroe’s “Shenandoah Breakdown” and The String Cheese Incident number, “Black Clouds.” Following the night’s second sit-in, the band proceeded with George Gershwin’s “Summertime” and a favored take on “Wargasm.”
Following a stream of applause and admiration for the evening’s entertainers, they returned to the stage for their encore. The final song of the night saw the band gather around a single mic for the traditional, “If Your Hair Is Too Long (There’s Sin In Your Heart),” which included Strings on guitar and Hargreaves on fiddle.
Off the back of last night’s event, Strings took to Instagram this morning where he spoke about his sit-in with Trucks. The musician said, “Man, last night when Derek came up and played with us, he played something so good… And at one point, I literally dropped my pick, and I just looked back at him and I was like, ‘You fucking made me drop my pick.’ And then I just bent down and picked it up… That shit was funny.”
Tonight, the talented group of performers will conclude their time in Nashville, Tenn., by moving across the street to perform at the fabled Ryman venue. The Sunday night concert is sold out. For those interested in watching Sunday evening’s live performance, visit nugs.net.
Scroll down to watch videos and view photos from last night’s show.
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Billy Strings
Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, Tenn.
Feb. 25, 2023
Set I: Bronzeback > Must Be Seven > Meet Me At The Creek, Señor, On The Line > Train 45, Show Me The Door, Secrets, Pickin’ Up The Pieces+, Love & Regret+, Away From The Mire
Set II: The Fire On My Tongue > Ridin’ That Midnight Train, Fire Line, Elderly Woman From Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Pyramid Country > Thunder, Polka on a Banjo^#, Shenandoah Breakdown^, Black Clouds^, Summertime, Wargasm
Enc.: If Your Hair Is Too Long (There’s Sin In Your Heart)
Notes:
+ With Derek Trucks on slide electric guitar
^ With Noam Pikelny on banjo
# Debut, first time played
Setlist via billybase.com.