Billy Strings and his band took their beloved fans who packed the sold-out St. Augustine Amphitheatre on a true musical and emotional journey over their three-show 4/20 weekend run. From the emotional lows of needing to honor Florida’s beloved son Dickey Betts, one of the founders of the legendary Allman Brothers Band, to irreverent highs of the national salute to cannabis consumption known to most as simply “420” and beyond, Billy and his merry band had a song, a kind thought, and a steady(-ish) hand on the rudder throughout the entire voyage.
Friday, April 19th
Billy Strings astutely knows the importance of getting his crackerjack bandmates going early to have their collective music machine firing on all cylinders, especially for a long weekend run. Strings urging his mandolin player Jarrod Walker to “Go get ’em” as they kicked into “Wild Bill Jones” found an alert Walker ready, willing, and more than up to the task. After a quick vibe check of the St.Aug audience, he noted how clearly “tickled” Walker was to be up on the big stage in his home state, crushing it alongside his brothers-in-arms.
Next up to stretch their sonic legs was banjo wizard Billy Failing who filled the follow-up “Red Daisy” with fearless fills and fireworks, and some solid work on harmony vocals at the same time. Bassist Royal Masat needed no special urging to commence setting the tone as he, like the clockwork precision of the rock-solid pocket he provides his melodic partners, is as reliable as the day breaking the night.
While all this was going on, fiddler Alex Hargreaves was raining waves of wailing sonic joy and raw emotion that gave each bow he pulled and stroked an audible impact on the crowd and co-conspirators onstage. Hargreaves may be the “new guy,” in terms of band tenure, but his addition to the touring ensemble was a turning point in Billy Strings and company’s ability to maximize every chance they get to dazzle an audience. While it’s nigh impossible to point to a single song or moment as his apex Friday night, the opening trio of songs certainly contained all the elements he had brought to the mix in rapid succession.
Strings, meanwhile, had his musical fingerprints all over the entire two-set experience, in one way or another. Be it as an enthusiastic hype man, a once-in-a-generation type picker, and a fearless onstage general, Billy knocked out his tasks with ruthless certainty in equal parts with his patented “Aw, shucks” humility. At this point blowing folks’ minds isn’t simply something Strings can do, it’s just what he does.
An always-learning student of not just bluegrass but music in general, Strings made multiple shows of appreciation to the late Dickey Betts who passed away on Thursday at age 80. Strings included multiple nods to the late guitar hero including a “Midnight Rider” fakeout intro to “Running The Route” and a tease of the same song in “Be Your Man”. The full-fledged tribute ultimately arrived in the encore, with a twofer of ABB classics “Little Martha” and the band’s debut of “Ramblin’ Man”. The show of respect for the beloved son of the south was clearly an emotionally heavy moment for the audience and saving them for last was a wise move for Strings. After a night like the one he gave to everyone within earshot, there was nothing left to do but take a bow and rest up for round two.
Billy Strings – “Gone A Long Time”, “Wild Bill Jones” – 4/19/24
Saturday, April 20th
Billy took the stage with special guest (and stage manager) Nate Flores in full ”Vato Cheech” regalia and kicked off the special occasion with the theme from Cheech and Chong‘s beloved film debut, “Up In Smoke”. After a wild and dissociative “Pyramid Country” and an impressively intricate take on Johnny Horton’s “Ole Slewfoot”, the ready-to-rock band dropped a lonesome “Must Be Seven” on the appreciative amphitheater audience.
Though Strings and company held back some of the more overt “holiday” numbers for the sky-high second set, their singalong rendition of Old & In the Way’s classic “Lonesome L.A. Cowboy” did its composers Jerry Garcia and Peter Rowan proud. The song’s multiple drug shoutouts were appropriate given the context.
Though the entire first set was smoking hot, the particularly deft picking in the set one closer, Frank Wakefield’s “End Of The Rainbow” was so good it earned everyone a break before soldiering on to the second half of the holidaze celebration.
By set two, the theme of 420 was present both musically and in the air. Strings reminded fans to leave milk and cookies out for Willie as the band packed the concert bowl with music goodness, playing such odes to Mary Jane as Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35″ (played for the first time), John Hartford’s “Steam Powered Aereo Plane”, and, of course, Strings’ collaboration with the (not so) Red Headed Stranger himself, “California Sober”.
The early curfew had the band arm-in-arm and out the door by 10 p.m. and, judging from the looks of them on Sunday, on to parties and hijinks late into the night.
Billy Strings – “Up in Smoke”, “Pyramid Country” – 4/20/24
Sunday, April 21st
With three of the band rocking shades even after the sunset and everyone on stage and off looking a bit worse for the wear, Sunday had a rougher start, but the musicianship didn’t suffer the slightest. Despite any lingering fatigue, Strings is still a beyond-his-years consummate professional first and foremost.
“Slipstream” had some impressive bass work from Masat—as did “Doing Things Right”, which provided a nice contrast with its straight-ahead rocking feel and had Billy in full ass kicking mode during the jam. Masat even dropped a fierce “Eleanor Rigby” vocal over a sea of floaty astral jams that was easily one of the better moments of the whole weekend. Billy eventually took up the lead and did some exceptional chord work to lead them all back to the song proper and then dropped a distorted guitar jam that would have warmed the late Eddie Van Halen‘s heart.
After the always enjoyable but unreliable narration of the murder ballad “My Alice”, Billy finally slid off his shades, and Hargreaves got a little country flavor going with a sharp, full-steam bluegrass two-step, “Down Yonder”. The tune written by L. Wolfe Gilbert and first recorded by McMichen’s Melody Men in 1927 served as a wonderful lead-in to “Everything’s The Same”. After a nasally take on “Rank Stranger” that honored the gospel-tinged Ralph Stanley original, a nicely zippy and tart “Seven Weeks In County” closed out the second-to-last set of the weekend with the band in deep focus.
The dark confessional “Psycho” got the second set going with an off-putting unease before a mournfully testimonial, “Away From The Mire”, weighed the set yet further down into darkness. Even some splendid fiddle work from Hargreaves and some of Strings’ fiercest playing of the weekend couldn’t lift the moody tune’s tone, but the outro piece, “New Country Blues” by Drew Emmitt (Leftover Salmon) and Bill Nershi (The String Cheese Incident) came rolling in with a little boot scootin’ energy that brought everyone back to a righteous cheering whoop when the three song run finished. Strings clearly saw how enthralled the crowd had become during the first tunes and checked in on the packed audience, asking if they were still having fun. To the roar he received in response, Strings could only smile in appreciation before humbly confessing that they too were having fun.
Masat continued his stand-out performance with some solid lead work on the instrumental “Escanaba”, which also gave Hargreaves another chance to shine before Billy joined in, turning the tune into a musical race to the finish. Robert Hunter‘s lyrics in “Thunder” matched with the Florida flash storm that soaked anyone outside the amphitheater’s roof. After what Strings rapidly realized was a futile plea for a little quiet to drop a center mic mid-set vibe check, they launched into a four-part-harmony-laden “How Long Have I Been Waiting On You” that worked surprisingly well for the suddenly steaming crowd.
Billy Strings – “Southbound”, “E.M.D. (Eat My Dust)”, “Hellbender” – 4/21/24
Billy Strings tour continues this weekend in Kentucky. nugs subscribers can tune in with complimentary livestreams of the entire tour here. The bluegrass powerhouse also recently added summer tour dates to his 2024 itinerary. For tickets and a full list of upcoming shows visit his website.
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Setlist: Billy Strings | St. Augustine Amphitheatre | St. Augustine, FL | 4/19/24
Set 1: Gone A Long Time, Wild Bill Jones, Red Daisy, Enough To Leave, Cabin Song, All Of Tomorrow, Ashland Breakdown, Running [1], Running The Route [2], Hollow Heart, Show Me The Door, Drifter’s Escape, Meet Me At The Creek
Set 2: Dos Banjos [3], This Old World, Freeborn Man, I Only Exist, Long Forgotten Dream, Reverend, Ice Bridges, Drifting With The Tide, Home [4], Home Of The Red Fox, John Hardy, Be Your Man [5], On The Line, Train 45, Ruby
Encore: Wait a Minute [6][7], Little Martha [8][9][10], Ramblin’ Man [9][11][12][13][14]
- “Presbyterian Guitar” (John Hartford) tease
- “Midnight Rider” (Allman Brothers Band) fakeout intro.
- Dos Billys on Dos Banjos (Billy Strings on Clawhammer & Billy Failing on 5-String)
- Billy Strings on his “Bride” Preston-Thompson D-SBA Custom guitar
- “Midnight Rider” (Allman Brothers Band) tease
- FTP – The Seldom Scene
- Dedicated to Legendary banjo player and The Seldom Scene founding member, Ben Eldridge, who passed away 2024-04-14. Photo of Ben Eldridge on the big screen behind the band
- Duo of Billy Strings (guitar) & Jarrod Walker (mandolin) sitting center stage
- In Memory of Rock guitar legend Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers Band who passed away 2024-04-18
- Last Time Played 2021-11-20 | 242 Shows
- FTP – Dickey Betts (Allman Brothers Band)
- Photo of Dickey Betts on the big screen behind the band
- Lyric change to “I’m leaving out of ol’ St. Augustine”
- “Jessica” (Allman Brothers Band) tease
Setlist: Billy Strings | St. Augustine Amphitheatre | St. Augustine, FL | 4/20/24
Set 1: Up in Smoke [1][2][3], Pyramid Country, Ole Slew Foot, Must Be Seven, Lonesome LA Cowboy, Beaumont Rag, Taking Water, Dust In A Baggie, Dealing Despair, Watch It Fall, Doin’ My Time, Fire Line, End Of The Rainbow
Set 2: Catch and Release [4], With A Vamp In The Middle, This Heart Of Mine, Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 [5][6], Know It All, Steam Powered Aereo Plane [7], California Sober, Love and Regret, The Old Mountaineer, Fiddling Around, Shady Grove, Hide and Seek, Ride Me High, Hide and Seek
Encore: Brain Damage
- FTP – Cheech & Chong
- Duo w/ Nate Flores (Billy Strings Stage Manager) on vocals & in “Up in Smoke” costume
- Full band joins on stage end of song
- Billy Strings solo center stage
- FTP – Bob Dylan
- Played in the style of 1968 Flatt & Scruggs bluegrass version
- Billy Failing on lead vocals
Setlist: Billy Strings | St. Augustine Amphitheatre | St. Augustine, FL | 4/21/24
Set 1: Southbound, E.M.D. (Eat My Dust), Hellbender, Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down, In the Clear, Turmoil & Tinfoil, In The Morning Light, Slipstream, Doin’ Things Right [1], My Alice, Down Yonder, Everything’s The Same, Rank Stranger, Seven Weeks in County
Set 2: Psycho, Away From The Mire, New Country Blues, Escanaba, Thunder [2][3], Heartbeat Of America [4], How Long Have I Been Waiting On You? [5], Freedom [5], Cold Cold World, Dark Hollow, Ralph’s Banjo Special, Secrets, Encore, Nutshell, Dreadful Wind & Rain, Tennessee
- “Eleanor Rigby” (Beatles) teases
- Pouring rain outside of cover
- “Jessica” (Allman Brothers Band) tease
- “Who Knows?” (Jimi Hendrix Band of Gypsys) teases
- Full band around single mic
The post Billy Strings Goes Low To High Over 4/20 Weekend With Tributes To Dickey Betts & More In St. Augustine [Videos] appeared first on L4LM.
