Billy Strings returned to Boston for a mid-week run on Tuesday and Wednesday, making his debut at Leader Bank Pavilion. For this latest trip to Beantown, Strings called up banjo scholar Victor Furtado for a lengthy sit-in on Tuesday followed on Wednesday by the 3000-ification of a geospecific traditional.
Strings gave the Massachusetts capital a friendly hello on Tuesday as he opened the show and the run with, “Big Ball In Boston”. It was during the first set that Strings introduced Furtado as “one of my favorite musicians that I’ve seen.” Together the two musicians—plus Billy’s backing band of Billy Failing, Jarrod Walker, Royal Masat, and Alex Hargreaves—picked through old-time favorites “John Hardy”, Bill Monroe‘s “The Gold Rush”, “I’ll Go Stepping Too”, and finally “Roll On Buddy, Roll On” to close the first set.
Billy Strings – “Big Ball In Boston” (Traditional) > “Heartbeat Of America” [Pro-Shot] – 7/25/23
Something about jamming with Furtado on night one must have inspired Strings, as he came out to open Wednesday’s show armed with his clawhammer banjo. After opening the show with solo runs through “Georgia Buck”, “Ol’ Rickard”, and “Rueben’s Train”, Strings then picked up his six-stringed weapon of choice and invited the rest of the band out to start the show in earnest.
Billy Strings – “Georgia Buck” (The Hill Billies) > “Ol’ Rickard” > “Reuben’s Train” (Traditional), “Cabin Song” > “Tipper” (Tony Rice)” [Pro-Shot] – 7/26/23
Billy employed a variety of musical instruments on Wednesday, as he once again took the stage with his clawhammer to open the second set. The Billies squared off with “Dos Banjo” as Billy Strings and Billy Failing kicked off the last frame of the run as a duo before bringing out the rest of the band for a cover-filled second set.
The final arsenal change arrived during the encore, as Billy came out with his Casio DG-20 synth guitar. He utilized the electronic instrument to once again put a digital spin on a geographically relevant old favorite, just as he did earlier this month with The Andy Griffith theme in North Carolina. With the Casio, he adapted the traditional instrumental “Boston Boy” into a composition newly crowned “Boston Boi 3000”.
Related: Billy Strings Gets Cosmic With Daniel Donato At Vermont After-Show [Photos/Videos]
Billy Strings has a two-night run in Portland, ME and a set at Newport Folk Festival this weekend before shipping off to Europe for another international tour. Tickets and a full list of tour dates are available here. Existing nugs.net subscribers can tune into livestreams of the Portland shows at no additional costs. Check out some fan-shot videos of Billy Strings’ two-night Boston run from Amy Karibian.
Billy Strings – “While I’m Waiting Here” > “Psycho” (Eddie Payne) > “Meet Me At The Creek” – 7/25/23
Billy Strings – Leader Bank Pavilion – Boston, MA – 7/25/23
[Audio: mgonnella]
Billy Strings – Leader Bank Pavilion – Boston, MA – 7/26/23
[Audio: mgonnella]
Setlist: Billy Strings | Leader Bank Pavilion | Boston, MA | 7/25/23
Set One: Big Ball In Boston (Traditional) > Heartbeat Of America, This Old World, Katy Daley (Eamon O’Shea), While I’m Waiting Here [1] > Psycho (Eddie Payne) > Meet Me At The Creek, John Hardy (Traditional) [2] > The Gold Rush (Bill Monroe) [2], I’ll Go Stepping Too (Tom James, Jerry Organ) [3] [4], Roll On Buddy, Roll On (Traditional) [3]
Set Two: Freeborn Man (Keith Allison, Mark Lindsay), Long Forgotten Dream, John Deere Tractor (Lawrence Hammond), On The Line > Train 45 (Traditional), California Sober, All Fall Down (John Hartford), West Dakota Rose (Chris Henry), Secrets, Away From The Mire
[1] “Presbyterian Guitar” John Hartford intro
[2] Billy Strings on guitar with Victor Furtado on clawhammer banjo
[3] Full band with Victor Furtado on clawhammer banjo
[4] Last Played 2020-07-19 | 285 show gap
Setlist: Billy Strings | Leader Bank Pavilion | Boston, MA | 7/26/23
Set One: Georgia Buck (The Hill Billies) [1] > Ol’ Rickard [1] > Reuben’s Train (Traditional) [1], Cabin Song > Tipper (Tony Rice), I’ve Lived a Lot in My Time (Jim Reeves), End Of The Rainbow (Frank Wakefield) > Ice Bridges, Reverend (Greensky Bluegrass), Show Me The Door, Whisper My Name (New Grass Revival), Turmoil & Tinfoil
Set Two: Dos Banjos [2], Slow Train (Leroy Drumm, Cal Freeman), The Cuckoo (Traditional) > Living Like An Animal > Know It All, Summertime (George Gershwin), The Train That Carried My Girl From Town (Traditional) > Black Mountain Rag (Leslie Keith), Nothing’s Working, I Only Exist (Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys), Crown Of Thorns (Mother Love Bone) > Tentacle Dragon (Revenge Of The) (Béla Fleck), Pyramid Country > Must Be Seven
Encore: Boston Boi 3000 (Traditional) [3] [4]
[1] Billy Strings solo on clawhammer banjo
[2] Dos Billys (Billy Strings on clawhammer banjo, Billy Failing on banjo)
[3] Billy Strings on a Casio DG-20 synth guitar
[4] FTP on the Casio DG-20 synth guitar
The post Billy Strings Jams With Victor Furtado, Gives “Boston Boy” The 3000 Treatment At Leader Bank [Videos/Audio] appeared first on L4LM.
