Bluegrass star Billy Strings headed to his native Michigan stomping grounds on Tuesday to join Phish at Grand Rapids’ Van Andel Arena for an extended sit-in.
After beginning the evening’s second set with short but sweet renditions of “Free” and “Sand”, a nearly 20-minute “Ruby Waves”, and a delicate, cathartic “Harry Hood”, a stage tech could be seen bringing out an additional microphone.
“We’ve got a good friend of ours [coming] to join us up here,” Trey Anastasio told the crowd. “A little local musician, you might know this guy.”
“Howwwdyyyy!” Billy howled as he made his entrance.
With that, Michigan native Billy Strings, PRS in hand, joined in on a rendition of “The Moma Dance” that built to a towering, Allman Brothers Band-like peak before the potent guitar combo of Strings and Anastasio pushed the jam to a “Samson and Delilah”-reminiscent climax just past the 23-minute mark.
Phish w/ Billy Strings – “The Moma Dance” (Partial) – 8/6/24
[Video: nognuisagoodgnu]
After an approving fist-pump from Trey, the quintet moved into “Possum” featuring Billy on lead vocals, the two guitarists pushing each other further into howling rock interplay. “Everything’s Right” followed from there. While Trey took his normal role in the spotlight to start, a dual-guitar breakdown served as the catalyst for another blissful launch into uncharted territory.
Phish w/ Billy Strings – “Possum” – 8/6/24
[Video: Max Berde]
“Billy Strings!” Trey said simply as the lights came up. “Thanks, everybody!”
When the band returned to the stage for the encore, Billy Strings was once again in tow. This time, both Trey and Billy grabbed acoustic guitars to take fans through the younger guitarist’s usual neck of the stylistic woods with a rendition of bluegrass staple “Nellie Kane” (Hot Rize) featuring Strings on lead vocals.
“We’ll try this one,” Strings said as he counted the band into another bluegrass selection from the live Phish songbook, The Del McCoury Band‘s “Beauty of My Dreams”, with Billy and Trey sharing lead vocals.
Phish w/ Billy Strings – “Beauty of My Dreams” (The Del McCoury Band) – 8/6/24
[Video: nognuisagoodgnu]
With time running down, Billy and Trey once again strapped on electric guitars and plugged in for a seething, snarling “Carini”.
Fans can purchase the pay-per-view webcast of the Grand Rapids show featuring Billy Strings via LivePhish here to re-watch pro-shot video of the entire performance [Note: Live For Live Music is a LivePhish affiliate. Ordering your webcast via the links on this page helps support our work covering Phish and the world of live music as a whole. Thanks for reading!]
Phish returns to Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids on Wednesday to round out a two-night run. For a complete list of upcoming Phish tour dates, head here.
Setlist [via phish.net]: Phish | Van Andel Arena | Grand Rapids, MI | 8/6/24
Set One: Strawberry Letter 23 > Sigma Oasis, Peaches en Regalia, Tube, Theme From the Bottom > Stash, Train Song, Steam > Rift > Bathtub Gin
Set Two: Free, Sand > Ruby Waves > Harry Hood, The Moma Dance [1], Possum [1] Everything’s Right [1]
Encore: Nellie Kane [2], Beauty of My Dreams [2], Carini [1]
[1] with Billy Strings (electric guitar, vocals)
[2] with Billy Strings (acoustic guitar, vocals), Trey on acoustic guitar.
Notes: Peaches en Regalia was played for the first time since February 24, 2022 (115 shows). The lyrics of Moma Dance were sung twice, with the change “I still gaze and glimpse you” the second time, accompanied by a Fishman “Still?!” sample.
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