Photo: Stevo Rood

On Saturday, April 12, Billy Strings concluded his time at the Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Ga. After commencing night one at the Peach State venue on Friday, the bluegrass golden boy returned to the location to bookend the run with a range of originals and covers, songs that served the area, and the Southern spirit of the occasion, including an ode to regional favorites Widespread Panic, and the concert’s official conclusion a take on Bill Monroe’s “My Little Georgia Rose.”

Before String’s nod to the area via his final move during the Savannah visit, he worked through two frames of music that leaned heavily into traditional songs, beginning with the first “Cattle In The Cane” of this calendar year. Continuing with borrowed and previously shelved material, the band provided a rousing take on Bob Dylan’s famed “Tangled Up in Blue” for the first time since Dec. 30, 2022, effectively ending an 181-show gap in plays. 

Next, Strings and his band offered a sequence of songs from their own records before nodding to Georgia natives and jam veterans, Widespread Panic on “All Time Low.” The ‘Til the Medicine Takes originator ushered into Townes Van Zandt’s “White Freightliner Blues” without pause. As expected, the band parsed down, with Alex Heagraves stepping aside for a breathtaking single-mic rendition of live favorite “Richard Petty.” 

Strings and company played through Bobby Davidson’s “If Your Hair Is Too Long, There’s Sin In Your Heart,” ultimately closing the first set after an expansive take on Pink Floyd’s “Fearless” and their own “Turmoil & Tinfoil.” The latter half of the concert picked up with the Doc Watson release, turned Me/ And/ Dad cut, “Frosty Morn” before the arrival of traditional “Crawdad Hole.” Set two saw Strings on clawhammer banjo, Jarrod Walker on guitar, and Hargreaves on fiddle, performing around a single mic at the front of the stage.

The remaining players returned to help their bandmates out on a nonstop sequence of originals:  “Fireline” into “Running the Route” and Gild the Lily.” A pause ensued before the group’s arrival on “Happy Hollow,” one from Highway Prayers, before “Hello, City Limits,” which was first released by Red Allen and The Kentuckians. “Be You Man” came before the classic “Sally Goodin’” paired with Ralph Stanley’s “Ridin’ That Midnight Train.” 

Set two came to a close after one final painting, the Home released “Taking Water” and Frank Wakefield’s “End of the Rainbow.” For the night’s encore, Strings paid homage to their location on Monroe’s “My Little Georgia Rose.”

Next, Billy Strings will perform on April 15 at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va. Tickets are sold out—Livestream Strings’ Spring Tour on nugs.net. 

Billy Strings

Enmarket Arena – Savannah, Ga. 

April 12, 2025 

Set I: Cattle In The Cane1 > Tangled Up In Blue2, Red Daisy, Heartbeat Of America, In The Morning Light, All Time Low> White Freightliner Blues, Richard Petty3, If Your Hair Is Too Long, There’s Sin In Your Heart3, Fearless4, Turmoil & Tinfoil

Set II: Frosty Morn5, Crawdad Hole5, Fire Line > Running The Route > Gild the Lily, Happy Hollow, Hello, City Limits, Be Your Man, Sally Goodin > Ridin’ That Midnight Train, Taking Water > End Of The Rainbow

Enc.: My Little Georgia Rose

Notes:

1. Last Time Played 2024-05-21 | 57 show gap
2. Last Time Played 2022-12-30 | 181 show gap
3. Full band (minus Alex) around single mic front of stage
4. “Guitar Peace” intro
5. Billy Strings on clawhammer banjo, Jarrod Walker on guitar, and Alex Hargreaves on fiddle single mic front of stage

Setlist via billybase.net.