After a long spring tour, Billy Strings and company rolled into his home state’s Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan with a head of steam mightier than most locomotives. That’s a fairly appropriate analogy given Strings’ near superhuman speed on guitar, and the string of shows he’s put together just this year alone have continued to bolster his “guitar hero” status.
With a quick “Good to be home, baby!” it was off to the races. Show opener “Red Daisy” was the first to fall victim to a clearly fired-up Strings with a whiplash jam anchored by his mandolin-toting fellow speedster, Jarrod Walker. Fiddler Alex Hargreaves ripped into the next tune, “Heartbeat Of America”, with equal gusto before passing the lead to Billy Failing on banjo, who set Strings up to slam it in for a massive cheer from the home crowd.
“In The Morning Light” featured the first of many deep-space trips over the course of the night, though this one was far shorter in duration than several of the improvisational expeditions that would follow. The emotional weight of the bowed notes by Hargreaves met its match through a particularly sublime, distorted tone on Strings’ guitar. Clearly riding the wave of love from the crowd, Billy finally took a few moments to acknowledge the cavalcade of cheers from his fans, friends, and family in the audience at the 15,000-capacity shed.
A quick hello to his mother standing proudly in the stage right wings was followed by remarks on his amazement to be in Michigan’s fabled Pine Knob Amphitheater after hearing so many tales of its fabled past. He went on to introduce his band before they all got to work on a five-song run that served as the core of the first set.
The methodical and mysterious “Secrets” got the whole thing going before “Must Be Seven” saw a fairly restless Strings so impressed with Walker’s picking that he strolled over to shake his hips at the mando licks flying off the eight-string smoke machine. The crescendo built to an explosive finale before the jam reassembled itself on “Hide And Seek”.
Related: Billy Strings Opens Up About Anxiety During Indianapolis Concert [Photos/Videos/Audio]
The frenzied depths, psychedelic rips, textured roars, and wailing chords were nothing less than insanity distilled into music. That milieu paired nicely with Strings’ all-night wanderlust as he strolled the stage, taking time to jam for each individual section, a grin plastered on his face. By the time the quintet rolled into a back down to Earth on “Dust In A Baggie”, the enchanted crowd was ready for a picking party—and they got what they wanted in spades.
Not yet done exploring the sonic limits of the universe (or the physical limits of the stage itself) Billy used the late Jimi Hendrix as a vessel to continue his journey, with the first “Love Or Confusion” of the year serving as the means to reach for the stars. Clearly needing to catch his breath after all his hard work—and, more importantly, retune his guitar after the vast distances it had just traveled—Strings’ again showed love to be back home, extolling how cozy he felt sliding back into “the Mitten.”
The guilt-ridden waltz of “Rock Salt And Nails” set up one more burst of fiery mayhem as a set closing “Fire Line” saw the full band at its wildest, with Strings at the head-banging, hair-flying forefront. As the musicians finished and departed for the intermission, you had to wonder if Strings could possibly match his set one heroics—but the best was definitely yet to come.
Strings and company returned to the stage with Billy smoking a sizable spliff that would likely get an entire section of the venue smiling [“Michigan is a fully recreational use is legal, right?”]. Deep echoes and eerie chords coalesced into an opening one-two of “Fire On My Tongue” and Bill Monroe’s “Dusty Miller”, the entire band still red hot and ready. The jams came and went from there like wildfire with an astounding “Love Like Me”, a “Highway Hypnosis” infused with a Greensky Bluegrass “Leap Year” jam (a hat tip to another beloved local export), and another Monroe-reimagined track, “Tall Pines”, falling under this razor-sharp buzzsaw of a band.
A quick visit to the appropriately titled “Home” got Strings feeling nostalgic. He shared the story of how a Ralph Stanley tape left in his Mom’s cassette deck had altered his life’s path, diverting him away from a dalliance with heavy metal and moved him to embrace his bluegrass roots. [Note: Billy told this story in more detail during a 2022 interview with Cory Wong, which you can watch here.]
After Stanley’s “Rank Stranger” and another trip around the solar system with “Away From The Mire”, a welcome visit by Alice In Chains classic “Nutshell” got Strings back to roaming the stage, blazing guitar in hand. He finally took a quick rest in a “Red Rocking Chair” before the ensuing “Little Maggie” led to a last round of goodbyes and promises for more regular visits home, his eyes misty as he spoke.
Running low on time before curfew, Strings made a fast transition to a high-energy and hilarious take on the traditional tune “Big Ball In Boston” featuring a slew of Mitten State ad-libs. Still flush with his final rush of energy, String’s jumped off stage and started signing autographs and taking pictures with his beloved fans. Because that’s what heroes—hometown, guitar, or otherwise—do.
Check out the setlist and a selection of photos and videos from Friday’s Billy Strings show at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan below.
Next up for Billy Strings is a sold-out Saturday night performance at Chicago, IL’s Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island. For a complete list of his upcoming tour dates, head here.
Billy Strings – “Red Daisy”, “Heartbeat of America” [Pro-Shot] – 6/16/23
Billy Strings – “Highway Hypnosos” (featuring Greensky Bluegrass “Leap Year” jam) – 6/16/23
Billy Strings – “Nutshell” (Alice In Chains), “Red Rocking Chair” – 6/16/23
Setlist: Billy Strings | Pine Knob Music Theatre | Clarkston, MI | 6/16/23
Set One: Red Daisy, Heartbeat of America, In the Morning Light, Secrets > Must Be Seven > Hide and Seek > Dust in a Baggie > Love or Confusion (Jimi Hendrix)^, Rock Salt and Nails (Rosalie Sorrels), Fire Line
Set Two: Fire on my Tongue > Dusty Miller (Bill Monroe), Love Like Me, Highway Hypnosis, Tall Pines* (Bill Monroe), Home, Rank Stranger (Stanley Brothers), Away From the Mire, Nutshell (Alice in Chains)> Red Rocking Chair (traditional), Little Maggie (traditional)> Big Ball in Boston (Detroit variations)
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