Guitar superstar Billy Strings got himself to Berkeley, California’s Greek Theatre last night for the first installment of his back-to-back weekend stand. After a pair of already legendary sit-ins with Phish, Strings got back on the road again on the West Coast for a one-off stop on Willie Nelson‘s Outlaw Music Festival before shooting down the coast.
Strings took the Greek Theatre stage solo and greeted fans with “Wild Bill Jones”, with the rest of the band filling in a minute later. United, the band followed their leader through a quick progression of “Secrets” and a visit to Ralph Stanley’s storied songbook with a dutifully reverent “A Robin Built A Nest On Daddy’s Grave”. The followup, a solid one-two combination of “On The Line” and “Train 45”, came and went like a wistful dream.
“Be Your Man” flowed into “Running” with the first extended break from reality of the evening. Billy mixed some stellar fast picking with effects-laden chords and fills while a freshly shaven Alex Hargreaves provided some serious astral fiddle work in support. The staccato nature of Billy Failing‘s banjo and mandolin from Jarrod Walker provided some wonderful contrast to the lush work of Hargreaves and Strings. The crowd went wild in appreciation when the whole jam concluded with a flourish, clearly enjoying the space-spanning journey.
Deciding to take things down a notch, Strings and company followed that cosmic jam with a mournful take on John Hartford’s “Today”, which afforded everyone a chance to catch their breath. That respite was short-lived as the subsequent “Doing Things Right” got the boot scootin’ back in full effect. Bassist Royal Masat laid down some extremely groovy, syrup-thick lines while Billy pulled off some of his speediest picking of the night. As Strings’ fingers flew up and down the guitar neck, Walker held together the pocket while Masat and Failing did some mighty fine contrasting, yet cohesive, work.
Taking a moment to address the packed Greek Theatre, Strings marveled at the storied venue, welcomed the crowd, and introduced the band. He then wasted no time before launching into a lightning-quick “Long Forgotten Dream” to close the set.
After a brief intermission, Billy once again took the stage alone, this time armed with his banjo, and picked out an intricate “Ol’ Rickard” before hopping on “Reuben’s Train”. Swapping out his banjo for an acoustic guitar, he laid out a fast but lovely version of Merle Watson’s “Muskrat”. After dedicating the tune honoring the voracious, furry little varmint to anyone in the crowd who was feeling a bit hungry, Billy then brought out his musical brothers–in-arms to help him rally the spell-bound crowd for the home stretch run.
After rejoicing with the audience about his return to California, Billy introduced “Seven Weeks In County” with talk of his forthcoming studio album, Highway Prayers, some of which he recorded in the sun-drenched Golden State. The raucous reception the tune received prompted Billy to note, “We hear you now!”
The melancholy nature of “This Old World” highlighted the reliably impressive, emotionally expressive nature of Strings’ singing voice, which blended beautifully with Hargreaves’ inspired fiddle work. As they transitioned seamlessly into a rolling and tightly focused “All Around This World”, the sonic spin around the globe had fans deep in their feels.
Not one to take such a world spanning adventure without collecting some important wisdom, Billy and company rocketed through an insightful “Everything’s The Same”. The bass break from Masat gave the instrumental section towards the end of the tune some much-appreciated low register soul to serve as the yin to the yang of his bandmates’ lightning-quick, follow-the-leader melodic firestorm.
“My Alice”, the stark and menacing tale of jealous revenge, came and went with murderous intent before it was time to once again visit higher planes of reality eventually coalescing into “Turmoil & Tinfoil”. While Strings laid on haunting digitized chords and Hargreaves took a lo-fidelity flight with him, the other, more percussive string players did some jazzy minimalistic work. At the crescendo of the long musical break at the heart of the song, Strings moved to the front of the stage, inciting the electrified audience.
Strings went on to speak of his appreciation for the old music that came before him. Noting that too many of the truly great “old guard” players and pioneers of the genre have left us, he went on to praise some of the ones who remain, and with whom he’s been luck enough to play. Nodding to artists like Del McCoury and David Grisman, Strings then moved on to give a touching, brief tribute to the late Bobby Hicks, who passed away the day before on Friday.
Hicks got his start as a sideman for the genre-naming Bill Monroe as one of his “Blue Grass Boys” before his career-defining run with the Bluegrass Album Band. Joining forces with Ricky Skaggs for another extended and storied partnership, he was considered among the top fiddlers of all times. Calling Hargreaves’ number once again, Strings dedicated the wandering waltz of “Maiden’s Prayer” and the subsequent “Your Love Is Like a Flower” as tributes to the fallen legend.
Wrapping the set and the main portion of the night’s festivities with A crackling “Dust In A Baggie” before leaving with a simple but sincere, “Thank You folks,” Billy Strings and his merry band didn’t stay gone long. They quickly filtered back out of the shadows to cluster around a single microphone, guitar virtuoso appearing empty-handed alongside his sidemen. Strings quieted the crowd with a gesture before showcasing his voice one more time.
With the four-part harmony of “Richard Petty” still echoing through the night, Strings finally called it quits for the evening with a heartfelt thanks and a well-deserved full-band bow. The Greek Crowd seemed reluctant to leave. Luckily, there was the promise of night two still yet to come.
Strings also apparently wasn’t done for the night and snuck over to the after show at The UC Theatre “to pick a few with my brother Sam Grisman and friends,” including Peter Rowan.
His tour continues tonight with another show at Berkeley’s Greek Theatre. Find tickets and a full list of tour dates on his website. If you can’t make it in person, tune in for a livestream on nugs, free to all subscribers. [Editor’s Note: Live For Live Music is a nugs affiliate. Ordering your nugs subscription or purchasing a download via the links on this page helps support our coverage of the world of live music. Thank you for reading!]
Billy Strings – “Wild Bill Jones”, “Secrets”, “The Fire on My Tongue” – 8/17/24
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Setlist: Billy Strings | William Randolph Hearst Greek Theatre | Berkeley, CA | 8.17.24
Set 1: Wild Bill Jones, Secrets, The Fire on My Tongue, A Robin Built a Nest on Daddy’s Grave, On the Line, Be Your Man, Running, Today, Doin’ Things Right, Long Forgotten Dream
Set 2: Ol’ Rickard, Reuben’s Train, The Muskrat Song, Seven Weeks in County, This Old World, I’ve Been All Around This World, Everything’s the Same, My Alice, Turmoil & Tinfoil, Maiden’s Prayer, Your Love Is Like a Flower, Dust in a Baggie
Encore: Richard Petty
The post Billy Strings Honors Late Bluegrass Legend Bobby Hicks, Jams With Sam Grisman, Peter Rowan In Berkeley [Photos/Videos] appeared first on L4LM.
