Watch: Billy Strings Debuts an Original Song Nightly During St. Augustine Weekend
Photo: Christopher Morley
On Thursday, April 2, Billy Strings opened his Spring Tour at St. Augustine Amphitheatre in St. Augustine, Fla. The pre-weekend concert represented the first in a series of three total appearances at the Sunshine State venue. It led with debut originals, including a new tribute song to the late bluegrass vocalist and composer, Ronnie Bowman. During Friday and Saturday’s return to the tented concert location, Strings and his band maintained a similar drive as night one by offering a dose of original debuts at each show.
Friday’s concert began with “Happy Hollow” followed by a take on “Hello, City Limits.” After turning in the Red Allen and The Kentuckians released tune, the ensemble returned to their own songbook and created a nook for “Love and Regret,” “In the Clear,” and “Escanaba.” Rather than delve into another section of self-written material, the group positioned Carter Stanley’s “Think Of What You’ve Done” as a barrier between an ensuing batch, comprised of “Away From The Mire” and “Long Forgotten Dream.”
After they included George Gershwin’s “Summertime,” Ralph Stanley’s “A Robin Built A Nest On Daddy’s Grave,” Home cut “Watch It Fall,” the group dusted off the first take on “Fiddling Around” since June 6, 2025. They capped Friday’s initial frame with “Dust in a Baggie,” and ultimately returned for the second half of the show with “Seven Weeks in Country,” which featured teases of Ennio Morricone’s “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly.”
Next, the group worked through “Show Me The Door,” ahead of a sequence that paired “Fire Line,” “Running the Route,” and “It Ain’t Before.” “The Old World” was trailed by “Malfunction Junction,” with a tease of “Clinch Mountain Backstep.” That ran into “Little Maggie,” before “10,000 Miles From A Friend,” and the night’s debut original: “Wilted Flowers.” Watch a fan-shot video below. Friday’s encore consisted of all covers.
During the band’s third and final night at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre, they kept up their affinity for borrowed songs and well-placed originals, while also carving out an ideal slot for a final debut. Before concluding set two on Saturday evening, the group worked through a new original, “Love Among the Tombstones,” which was placed between Bad Livers’ “Lumpy, Beanpole, & Dirt” and “Highway Hypnosis.” Watch a video of Saturday’s debut below.
The final night in St. Augustine featured Highway Prayers’ “The Beginning of the End,” and traditional-turned Doc and Merle Watson released “We Shall Be Reunited” encore placements.
On April 8, Billy Strings will resume their Spring Tour at the Benchmark International Arena. The Wednesday night appearance is sold out. For more information, visit www.billystrings.com/tour.
Billy Strings
Spring Tour 2026 – Night 2
St. Augustine Amphitheatre – St. Augustine, Fla.
April 3, 2026
Set I: Happy Hollow, Hello, City Limits, Love and Regret, In the Clear, Escanaba, Think Of What You’ve Done, Away From The Mire, Long Forgotten Dream, Summertime, A Robin Built A Nest On Daddy’s Grave, Watch It Fall, Fiddling Around1, Dust In A Baggie
Set II: Seven Weeks in County2, Show Me The Door, Fire Line, Running The Route, It Ain’t Before, This Old World, Malfunction Junction3, Little Maggie, 10,000 Miles From A Friend, Wilted Flowers4
Enc.: How Mountain Girls Can Love, Dark Hollow, Someday You’ll Call My Name5, Y’all Come
Notes:
- Last Time Played 2025-06-06 | 64 show gap
- “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly” (Ennio Morricone) teases
- “Clinch Mountain Backstep” (The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys) tease
- FTP – Original
- Last Time Played 2025-07-19 | 54 show gap
Billy Strings
Spring Tour 2026 – Night 3
St. Augustine Amphitheatre – St. Augustine, Fla.
April 4, 2026
Set I: The Fire On My Tongue, Know It All, Psycho, Pyramid Country1, Must Be Seven, Home, Harbor of Love, Slow Train, Nothing’s Working, Wargasm
Set II: Leaning on a Travelin’ Song, Seney Stretch, Don’t Be Calling Me (at 4 AM), End Of The Rainbow, Dawg’s Rag, In The Morning Light, Cattle In The Cane, Age, Enough To Leave, Lumpy, Beanpole, & Dirt, Love Among The Tombstones2, Highway Hypnosis
Enc.: The Beginning of the End, We Shall All Be Reunited
Notes:
- “Sally Goodin” (Traditional) tease
- FTP – Original
Setlist and notes via billybase.net.
