[UPDATE 7/12/24]: Billy Strings has released his long-awaited first live album, Billy Strings Live Vol. 1. The eight-song tracklist captures the bluegrass guitarist’s meteoric rise to stardom with standout performances from the past two years.
No Billy Strings live release would be complete without his breakthrough song “Dust in a Baggie”, opening the album as it did the show on December 15th, 2023 at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, PA from whence it came. Another go-to Billy song “Away From the Mire” follows, stretched out here for a comfortable 13 minutes at The Moody Center in Austin, TX on June 2nd, 2023. Giving the authentic feel of a Billy concert, a standard “Long Forgotten Dream” from Strings’ third-annual Renewal festival in Buena Vista, CO on September 22nd, 2023 fills out the setlist.
Any discussion of top Billy performances from the past two years must surely include his Ryman runs, with his 2024 trip to The Mother Church of Country Music represented with “Heartbeat of America” and a 22-minute pairing of “Fire Line/Reuben’s Train” (the only cover on the album) from February 25th. Like anyone who has traveled abroad, Strings also found a way to shoehorn his international journeys into conversation with “Dos Banjos” from Paris on November 14th, 2023, featuring Billy Strings and Billy Failing duking it out on the banjers. The award for longest single song of Live Vol. 1 goes to “Turmoil and Tinfoil” from Billy’s second of three sets on New Year’s Eve 2023 at UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. Finally, the album fittingly closes with the “Richard Petty” that closed the encore on March 1st, 2024 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta—the concert immediately following his February 25th Ryman performance.
Listen to Billy Strings Live Vol. 1 below or on your preferred streaming platform.
Strings continues his summer tour this weekend at Under the Big Sky Festival in Whitefish, MT. Visit his website for a full list of upcoming performances and ticketing details.
Billy Strings – Billy Strings Live Vol. 1 [Video Playlist]
[UPDATE 7/1/24]: Billy Strings has revealed the tracklist for his long-awaited first live album, Billy Strings Live Vol. 1, out July 12th via Reprise Records.
While fans wait for Billy Strings Live Vol. 1, Strings has shared a couple bonus tracks on his website. Fans can listen to the fairly straightforward “Hellbender” from St. Augustine, FL on April 22nd, 2023 and the exploratory 16-minute “Highway Hypnosis” from Billy’s June 16th, 2023 debut at Pine Knob Music Theatre in his home state of Michigan.
When initially announcing the live album, Strings challenged fans to see if anyone could guess the exact songs and shows that would make up the release. As a reward, Billy offered free tickets for life to his incendiary live concerts. Unfortunately—upon revelation of the tracklist—Strings also revealed that apparently the internet had gotten ahold of the list of songs prior to its official announcement and thus the contest was canceled. “Bummed but we’ll get over it,” the guitarist lamented (albeit possibly with a sigh of relief from management).
Check out the detailed tracklist for Billy Strings Live Vol. 1 below and stream the bonus tracks now on his website. Those who can’t wait until July 12th for the official album release can stream each track individually on nugs, which hosts a trove of Billy shows dating back to 2017. [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 Billy Strings and the world of live music. Thank you for reading!]
[5/28/24]: Billy Strings delivered a double-whammy of an announcement on Tuesday when he revealed dates for a 2024 fall tour and plans to release a long-awaited live album. Titled Billy Strings Live Vol. 1, the album is out July 12th via Reprise Records on a variety of formats.
First, the tour: Billy Strings’ fall tour will kick off with the bluegrass guitarist’s fourth-annual curated Renewal festival in Buena Vista, CO (9/27–9/28). The 16-date jaunt is made up almost entirely of two-night runs, featuring stops in Clarkston, MI (10/4–10/5), Indianapolis (10/11–10/12), and Huntsville, AL (10/18–10/19) ahead of a two-night Halloween run at the newly-renovated CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore (10/31–11/1).
Other stops include Memphis (12/6–12/7), Tulsa (12/10), Fort Worth (12/12), and finally Austin (12/13–12/14). The Austin run will begin at the intimate 2,750-capacity Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater before moving to the spacious 15,000-seat Moody Center to close out the tour. Tickets for the Moody Theater show will be available via a lottery open only to those with tickets to the Moody Center show.
A pre-sale for tickets to Billy Strings’ 2024 fall tour (except Renewal) will begin Wednesday, June 12th at 10 a.m. ET. Fans can sign up for access here. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, June 14th at 10 a.m. local time. Past Renewal attendees will have access to a pre-sale beginning Tuesday, June 4th ahead of the general on-sale on Thursday, June 6th. Visit Billy’s website for complete ticketing details.
Related: Here’s What We Learned From Billy Strings’ Interview On ‘WTF With Marc Maron’ [Listen]
As for the live album, Billy is keeping the tracklist close to the vest. Beginning July 1st, fans will have the chance to win free Billy Strings tickets for life by guessing the complete tracklist. More details will be announced soon, and fans can sign up for updates here. What we do know is that Billy Strings Live Vol. 1 will come in a variety of formats now available for pre-order. Vinyl variants include Red & Black Splatter, Translucent Red, Translucent Blue, and a double CD wallet version in addition to arriving on all major streaming services. Find complete pre-order information here.
In the meantime, Billy is on a brief break in touring until June 20th when he joins mandolinist Chris Thile for a special set at Telluride Bluegrass Festival followed by performances at Buckeye Country Superfest in Columbus, OH (6/22–6/23). Additionally, Billy recently revealed that his next studio album will be called Highway Prayers, spilling the beans during a lengthy interview on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast.
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