Billy Strings pulled his seat up to the table on Thursday for what is shaping up to be a three-night hot streak in Atlantic City, NJ. The first of three shows at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on the Jersey Shore saw Strings and company bust out a Jimmie Rodgers cover not seen in nearly 900 shows.
Always sure to tip his cap to his host region, Strings and his bandmates Billy Failing (banjo), Royal Masat (bass), Jarrod Walker (mandolin), and Alex Hargreaves (fiddle) opened the show and the run with the traditional “Roving Gambler”. The band caught fire early, dishing out a 15-minute “Turmoil & Tinfoil” as the second song of the show, following up with a long series of quick hits including “The Fire On My Tongue”, “Secrets”, Peter Rowan‘s “Bound To Ride”, Larry Sparks‘ “Slow Train”, and more.
On account of the cold February air, the lumbering vessel “Taking Water” froze over with a transition into “Ice Bridges” ahead of Jimmie Rodgers’ “My Rough and Rowdy Ways”. The song, covered by a number of artists including Doc Watson and Merle Haggard, last appeared on a Billy Strings setlist on November 16th, 2015 when the guitarist debuted it during a solo show in Eugene, OR, per Billybase. A hefty pairing of “Pyramid Country” and “Little Maggie” closed the first frame.
Back for another hand, Strings offered his second-ever performance of the traditional “Working On A Building”, last seen on December 9th, 2021 at The Eastern in Atlanta. The second set also witnessed the band’s debut of Full Cord‘s “Lincoln River”, preceding Jarrod Walker taking over lead vocals for Carter Stanley‘s “Nobody’s Love Is Like Mine”. The former cover comes from a band Billy grew up with in Michigan, with the guitarist noting ahead of the debut, “I always loved this song, especially as a Michigan boy.”
Throughout the second set, Strings dished out nods to his rock influences with teases and jams pointing to Phish, Jimi Hendrix, and the Grateful Dead. During a healthy “Thirst Mutilator”, the band teased “Bathtub Gin” before entering a “Third Stone From The Sun” jam. Later on, in the midst of a cover of Jackson Browne‘s “Running On Empty”, the band tacked on a “Third Stone From The Sun” outro. Finally, in the set-closing “Hide & Seek”, Billy threw in teases of the Dead’s “Feel Like A Stranger”. Before that, however, Strings once again paid tribute to the late Blaze Foley with “Cold Cold World”. Earlier this week on a trip to Austin, TX, Billy visited the grave of the slain folksinger and performed a number of his songs.
Billy and his band weren’t quite done just yet, taking the Hard Rock stage once again for a relevant “Don’t Let You Deal Go Down”. From there, they went on the hunt for “Ole Slewfoot” before finally cashing out with Bill Monroe‘s “The Gold Rush”.
Billy Strings returns to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino tonight, February 17th, for his second of three shows. Tickets and a full list of tour dates are available on his website.
Billy Strings – “Roving Gambler” (Traditional) [Pro-Shot] – 2/16/23
Billy Strings – Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – Atlantic City, NJ – 2/16/23 – Full Audio
[Audio: Papaphunk]
Setlist: Billy Strings | Hard Rock Hotel & Casino | Atlantic City, NJ | 2/16/23
Set One: Roving Gambler (Traditional), Turmoil & Tinfoil, The Fire On My Tongue > Secrets, Bound To Ride (Peter Rowan), Slow Train (Larry Sparks), All Of Tomorrow, Taking Water > Ice Bridges, My Rough and Rowdy Ways (Jimmie Rodgers) [1], Pyramid Country > Little Maggie
Set Two: Working On A Building (Traditional), Heartbeat Of America, In The Morning Light, Red Daisy, Lincoln River (Full Cord) [2], Nobody’s Love Is Like Mine (Carter Stanley), Fire Line > Thirst Mutilator [3] [4] > Dealing Despair > Enough To Leave > Running On Empty (Jackson Browne) [5], Cold Cold World (Blaze Foley), Hide & Seek [6]
Encore: Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down (Traditional), Ole Slewfoot (Johnny Horton) > The Gold Rush (Bill Monroe)
[1] LTP 11/6/15 (895 show gap)
[2] FTP
[3] “Bathtub Gin” tease
[4] “Third Stone From The Sun” jam
[5] “Third Stone From The Sun” outro
[6] “Feel Like A Stranger” tease
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