Billy Strings brought his band back to Atlanta, GA’s State Farm Arena for night two of his weekend run.
“Howdy folks!” Billy shouted as he took to the stage before launching into “Gone A Long Time”, with its opening line slightly altered to, “Heading south to Georgia, two shows in a row.” Afterwards, Strings earnestly thanked the crowd for the chance to play for them.
“Seven Weeks In County” came next, after which Strings continued to chat with crowd, marveling at the number of folks out on a Saturday night to hear bluegrass performed on real wooden instruments by actual people. Then, after a barreling “Slow Train”, Strings actually did slow down the pace for a thoughtful “Today” before reveling in a breakneck, armageddon-baiting “Wargasm”. The song’s poignant critique of war—and its rhetorical refrain, “What’s the reason for this again?”—has become increasingly relevant as violent conflicts and crises in Gaza, Ukraine, and beyond continue to claim innocent lives.
Billy Strings – “Gone A Long Time”, “Seven Weeks In County” – 3/2/24
After songs touching on the tried and true themes of trains and death, another traditional bluegrass muse, horses, was likely to follow. Lo, in rode a stout take on Doc Watson‘s “Tennessee Stud” with the supersonic Tony Rice instrumental “Tipper” hot on its trail. Billy, ever humble, thanked Watson and Rices’s trailblazing work that helped provide a well of inspiration for the wise-beyond-his-years musician.
Mandolinist Jarrod Walker showed some speed of his own in the intro for “Everything’s The Same” and it’s plain-spoken wisdom before bassist Royal Masat got hearts thumping and feet pumping with a funky breakdown to close out the instrumental jam at the heart of the tune. With the band and audience now thoroughly locked in, even the heartiest of partiers were ready to treasure the slower-paced “Show Me The Door”.
“Door” freely flowed into a cosmic breakdown that persisted until the laws of physics and song structure kicked back in for “Home Of The Red Fox ”, which featured spirited fiddling by Alex Hargreaves, followed by a razor-sharp “Know It All”.
As the band tuned up to make their run towards set break, Strings’employed another tried and true method to connect to the crowd, requesting that his crew turn the arena lights on so he could see the massive crowd. The fans went crazy as the lights came up, to which Strings reacted with his own ear-to-ear grin. “Lookit all them smiles”, he said, his words dripping with a palpable love and appreciation that just can’t be faked.
A truly face-melting psychedelic break from reality made the set closer’s game of “Hide And Seek” stand out.
As the band took a more literal, physical break to recharge their batteries to full for the second half of the evening’s entertainment, Strings took the stage alone, seated for the first handful of songs, starting with a clawhammer banjo take on “Gone A Long Time”. This was after he welcomed the audience back and asked if they minded his deviation from his usual guitar pyrotechnics for a run on its four stringed, twangier cousin.
Strings then thanked them for their indulgence and related how he first heard the banjo in his childhood, camping at Barkus Park with his father, Terry Barber, and friend of the family Brad Lasco. Strings spoke of picking around the campfire until his face was covered in ashen soot and how the memories of those days stay with him. He then dedicated “Brown’s Ferry Blues” by The Delmore Brothers to Lasco’s memory. It was a simple move, but it was moving nonetheless.
Next up on this candid evening, Billy offered an interesting look into the unexpected economic factors of covers, explaining the practicality of medleys like the three-in-one “Give The Fiddler A Dram” > “Whistling Rufus” > “Ragtime Allie”, which he said was actually cheaper to play than each song individually.
The final tune of the seated portion of the show, a fun “Catch And Release” about his near arrest on a fishing trip with Leftover Salmon’s Vince Herman, featured a nod to his actual arrest at the Atlanta airport for a ridiculously small amount of a controlled substance he had acquired at Atlanta’s own Sweetwater 420 Festival. From there, the rest of his “Lazy Boys” joined in and the second set got to rocking as they hit the ground “Running”.
The rest of the set flew by, with originals like “Home”, “Tinfoil and Turmoil”, and “Cabin Song”, as well as a trio of covers including “Bringing Mary Home” by The Country Gentlemen, “Bringing In The Georgia Mail” by Charlie Monroe, and a stellar “Nights In White Satin” by The Moody Blues. Billy even managed to slip a well-wishing “Cheers” to the crowd with a beer before dutifully introducing the band with his traditional, “I’m Bill, and it’s been a thrill.”
The encore featured one last nod to traditional bluegrass as the band gathered around a single mic for three additional tunes, Seldom Scene’s “How Long Have I Been Waiting On You?”, “Freedom”, and Jimmy Martin‘s “Sophronie”.
Check out photos and videos from Billy Strings at State Farm Arena in Atlanta below. The full show is available to stream via nugs.net.
Strings and his band return to the road next month for a run of spring tour dates. For a full list of the band’s upcoming shows and to purchase tickets, visit his website.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Billy Strings | State Farm Arena | Atlanta, GA | 3/2/24
Set 1: Gone A Long Time, Seven Weeks In County, Slow Train (Larry Sparks), Today, Wargasm, Tennessee Stud (Doc Watson), Tipper (Tony Rice), Everything’s The Same, Show Me The Door > Home Of The Red Fox(Bill Emerson) > Know It All, Hide And Seek
Set 2: Georgia Buck, Brown’s Ferry Blues (The Delmore Brothers), Give The Fiddler A Dram > Whistling Rufus > Ragtime Allie, Catch And Release, Running, Bringing Mary Home (The Country Gentlemen), Home, Dusty Miller > Bringing In The Georgia Mail (Charlie Monroe), Tinfoil And Turmoil, Nights In White Satin (The Moody Blues), Cabin Song
Encore: How Long Have I Been Waiting On You (Seldom Scene), Freedom, Sophronie (Jimmy Martin)
The post Billy Strings Caps Off Winter Tour With A Stellar Finale In Atlanta [Photos/Videos] appeared first on L4LM.
