Billy Strings Concludes ‘Wizard Of Oz’ Halloween Run In Asheville

Billy Strings wrapped a three-night The Wizard Of Oz themed Halloween run on Sunday in Asheville, North Carolina. The concert at ExploreAsheville.com Arena featured Strings’ debuting covers of songs by The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Elton John and more.

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Strings and his bandmates were dressed as characters from The Wizard Of Oz — Billy as the Scarecrow, bassist Royal Masat as the Cowardly Lion, banjoist Billy Failing as Dorothy and mandolinist Jarrod Walker as the Tin Man. The foursome began the first set with the first cover debut of the night, launching the show with The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” Next came originals “Nothing’s Working” and “Meet Me At The Creek,” followed by Bill Monroe’s “The First Whippoorwill.”

Strings & Co. then dug into their live debut of “Samson & Delilah,” the traditional song associated with the Grateful Dead and performed yesterday by Dead & Company at the Hollywood Bowl. Strings’ version of “Samson & Delilah” worked in teases of “Eye Of The Tiger.” Strings and his bandmates then covered “Ole Slew Foot.” The first set ended with “Wargasm” segueing in and out of Strings’ first public performance of The Doors’ haunting “Five to One.” An animated army of marching human skeletons projected on the screen behind the band as Strings sang the “March of the Winkies” chant (“oh-ee-oh”) from The Wizard Of Oz bridging the transition into The Doors cover.

The second set got underway with a pairing of “Taking Water” and “Doin’ Things Right,” the latter incorporated elements of “Use Me.” Strings then paused to call out and compliment some of the costumed audience members, pointing them out around the arena. From there the set continued with covers of “I’ll Remember You, Love, in My Prayers,” Mother Love Bone’s “Crown Of Thorns” and New Grass Revival’s “This Heart Of Mine,” before landing at “Love Like Me.” The set concluded with covers of “New Country Blues,” Grateful Dead’s “Brokedown Palace” (which was also played Sunday by Dead & Co) and the bluegrass standard “Long Journey Home,” as well as Strings’ own “Home.”

A final live cover debut remained for the evening’s encore which consisted of Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” performed while balloons dropped from the venue’s ceiling. Watch pro-shot footage of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” along with partial audience-shot footage of “Samson & Delilah” from Billy Strings’ Halloween concert in Asheville below:

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Setlist (via Billy Strings Setlist Page)

Set One: You Can’t Always Get What You Want [1], Nothing’s Working, Meet Me at the Creek, The First Whippoorwill, Samson & Delilah [2], Ole Slew Foot, Wargasm > Five to One [3] > Wargasm

Set Two: Taking Water > Doin’ Things Right [4], I’ll Remember You Love In My Prayers, Crown of Thorns > This Heart of Mine [5], Love Like Me, New Country Blues, Brokedown Palace, Long Journey Home, Home

Encore: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road [6]

Notes:

• [1] debut, The Rolling Stones
• [2] debut, Traditional. With Eye of the Tiger teases
• [3] debut, The Doors. With Samson & Delilah tease
• [4] Use Me tease
• [5] EFG Jam
• [6] debut, Elton John

Source: JamBase.com