Billy Strings made the most of his final day in Huntsville, AL on Saturday by swapping sit-ins with Leftover Salmon. After Billy dropped by the veteran slamgrass band’s daytime set at WhistleStop BBQ Festival, members of the group returned the favor later that night during Strings’ show at the Orion Amphitheater.
On Saturday afternoon, Leftover Salmon headlined the 24th annual WhistleStop Festival, topping a musical lineup that included J & The Causeways and Huntsville locals Element XI and Five O’Clock Charlie. Strings stepped in for a run through “New Country Blues” from Drew Emmitt and Andy Thorn‘s side project the Emmitt-Nershi Band with The String Cheese Incident’s Bill Nershi. Billy is well-acquainted with the cover, performing it 29 times over the past five years at his shows, and split vocals with the song’s author. Unfortunately, Strings’ mic wasn’t turned up but he nevertheless sang through his guitar as he got a warm-up jam with the band.
Leftover Salmon, Billy Strings — “New Country Blues” — 10/19/24
[Video: Tennessee Ed]
Hours later at the coliseum-like Orion Amphitheater, Strings was set to close out a two-night run and decided to call for backup. After beginning the second set with a string of solo songs “Give the Fiddler a Dram”, “Whistling Rufus”, and “Ragtime Annie”, Strings performed “Catch and Release”—a song about a highly memorable fishing trip he took with Salmon’s Vince Herman. The talking blues-style song summoned Vince himself along with mandolinist Drew Emmitt and banjo player Andy Thorn.
Strings and his bandmates Billy Failing (banjo), Jarrod Walker (mandolin), Royal Masat (bass), and Alex Hargreaves (fiddle) welcomed their guests with a performance of Salmon’s own “Down in the Hollow”. The visitors would stick around for seven of the set’s 18 songs, including classics by The Dillards, The Stanley Brothers, Blaze Foley, Townes Van Zandt, and Delmore Brothers. Herman also got a chance to plug his supergroup The High Hawks—featuring members of Railroad Earth, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, Great American Taxi, and Hard Working Americans—with Billy’s debut of “Shine Your Blues” off the band’s recent debut, Mother Nature’s Show.
Billy Strings, Vince Herman, Andy Thorn, Drew Emmitt — “Down In The Hollow” (Leftover Salmon) — 10/19/24
[Video: Tennessee Ed]
After Salmon left, Strings and company still had some tricks up their sleeves. For just the second time ever, Strings took up his Martin 12-String HD12-28 guitar, Royal got his Nord Stage 3 88-Key keyboard, and Failing got a Masterton ML-1: Missing Link Béla Fleck Baritone banjo to perform sentimentally spacey Highway Prayers track “Stratosphere Blues / I Believe in You”.
Following all the fanfare, special guests, and unorthodox instruments, the band finally got back to business. The regularly scheduled programming resumed with “Hollow Heart”, a potent pairing of “Wargasm” and “The Two Soldiers”, and a precipitous turn toward the road with “Highway Hypnosis” and “The Beginning of the End”. Finally, Strings put his foot right down and did it with a full-band (minus Alex) single-mic performance of “Richard Petty” to close the run.
Check out fan-shot videos from Billy Strings in Huntsville on Saturday, including his collaborations with Leftover Salmon. Up next for Strings’ is his O Billy, Where Art Thou? Halloween show in Baltimore, followed by December shows throughout the South. Find tickets and tour dates here.
Billy Strings — “Running”, “Taking Water” > “Ice Bridges” — 10/19/24
Setlist: Billy Strings | Orion Amphitheater | Huntsville, AL | 10/19/24
Set One: Running, Taking Water > Ice Bridges, Everything’s The Same, Hellbender, Malfunction Junction, Be Your Man, On The Line > Train 45 (Traditional) > Ruby (Cousin Emmy), Fire Line > Reuben’s Train (Traditional), Home [1]
Set Two: Give The Fiddler A Dram (Traditional) [2] > Whistling Rufus (Kerry Mills) [2] > Ragtime Annie (Traditional) [2], Catch and Release [2], Down In The Hollow (Leftover Salmon) [3] [4], There Is A Time (The Dillards) [3], Clinch Mountain Backstep (The Stanley Brothers) [3] [5], Cold Cold World (Blaze Foley) [3], Shine Your Blues (The High Hawks) [3] [6] [7], White Freightliner Blues (Townes Van Zandt) [3], Blues Stay Away From Me (Delmore Brothers) [3], Stratosphere Blues / I Believe in You [8], Hollow Heart, Wargasm, The Two Soldiers (Traditional), Highway Hypnosis, The Beginning of the End, Richard Petty [9]
[1] Billy Strings on his “Bride” Preston-Thompson D-SBA Custom guitar
[2] Billy Strings solo front of stage
[3] w/ Vince Herman (guitar), Andy Thorn (banjo) and Drew Emmitt (mandolin) of Leftover Salmon
[4] Drew Emmitt on lead vocals
[5] Last Time Played 2023-11-17 | 57 Shows
[6] Vince Herman on lead vocals
[7] FTP – High Hawks (Off Recent 2024 Release “Mother Nature’s Show”)
[8] Billy Strings on a Martin 12-String HD12-28, Royal Masat on a Nord Stage 3 88-Key Keyboard & Billy Failing on Masterton ML-1: Missing Link Béla Fleck Baritone Banjo
[9] Band (minus Alex) around single mic front of stage
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