Billy Strings Hosts 11 Special Guests, Debuts New Covers, Plays a Bong and Performs ‘Highway Prayers’ in Full for Halloween Follow-Up in Baltimore
On Thursday, Oct. 31, Billy Strings upheld a cherished tradition with another full-commitment Halloween performance, this time turning to the Coen brothers’ 2000 opus for “O Billy, Where Art Thou?” In the course of the show, Strings staged 12 songs from the film with appearances from a staggering 11 high-profile special guests. After such a rewarding and doubtlessly demanding program–complete with props, scenes and more–fans could reasonably assume that Friday’s performance would show bluegrass’ golden boy easing off the gas pedal. But Billy, willing as ever, returned with act two.
On Friday, Nov. 1, Stings rode his tidal wave of Halloween momentum back to Baltimore’s CFG Bank Arena for another expansive revue show, this time setting his sights on his own catalog. The artist paired performances of 22 originals with 15 covers to compare his current style with its traditional roots, sprinkling in 4 first-time treatments and one live debut for some added suprises along the way. To bolster this sprawling 37-track show, the artist managed to wrangle all 11 of his Halloween guests to reprise their roles in a testament to his ever-mounting esteem in the bluegrass world.
Billy’s show began with the spry, soul-lightening “Leaning on a Travelin’ Song,” the intro to his sixth studio album Highway Prayers, which finally crossed the finish line on Sept. 27. This opener, which featured additional vocals from Lindsay Lou in the rapturous starting harmonies, launched a run through Strings’ latest full-length offering in its entirety, staging all 20 tracks in sequence. Strings and his beloved band of banjoist Billy Failing, fiddler Alex Hargreaves, mandolinist Jarrod Walker and bassist Royal Masat (who wore a wristband in tribute to the late Phil Lesh) welcomed periodic appearances from special guests to elevate the occasion, including Nat Smith, Duane Trucks and Cris Jacobs, who joined in for “Gild the Lily.”
Trucks, Smith and Lou strapped in again for a far-out run of the psychedelic odyssey “Stratosphere Blues / I Believe In You,” then dobroist Jerry Douglas lent his inimitable sound to “Don’t Be Calling Me (at 4AM).” After Sierra Hull brought her mandolin and vocals to “Malfunction Junction” and Strings played solo for “Catch and Release,” Douglas returned for “Be Your Man” and “Gone a Long Time,” the latter of which packed a punch as Widespread Panic drummer Trucks joined again. As the band crossed over to disc two, they reigned it in to the core quintet on “It Ain’t Before,” “My Alice” and “Seney Stretch.”
For the live debut of “MORBUD4ME,” the only Highway Prayers cut not yet premiered, Billy moved to a new instrument, “playing” his bong into a looping sampler. After this humorous highlight, the band closed out its first set with a ripping run of “Leadfoot,” again taking on horsepower from Trucks, followed by “Happy Hollow,” “The Beginning of the End” and “Richard Petty,” which brought the group to encircle a single mic at center stage. For his second set, Strings turned almost entirely to covers, beginning with an explosive go of the Del McCoury Band’s “Baltimore Johnny” with Hull.
Hull remained for the traditional “Midnight On The Stormy Deep” and “Little Maggie,” both of which brought Douglas aboard. Billy bolstered his band even further for the subsequent debut cover of Randy Weeks’ “Can’t Let Go,” adding Trucks, Lou, vocalist Rachel Davis and Leftover Salmon’s Vince Herman–who played The Governor in the Halloween musical–to the fold. This packed house endured for a bust-out of Blind Willie Johnson’s blues standard “Nobody’s Fault But Mine,” which saw Herman and Lou share lead vocals in the song’s first appearance since 2019.
Douglas stayed with the band when Strings tapped cellist Smith for “Leaving London,” and only the dobroist remained alongside the quintet for “John Hardy.” Billy took a beat before welcoming a very special sit-in from Chris Thomas King, who took the stage alongside Douglas, Hull, Lou and Davis for the live debut of his original “John Law Burned Down The Liquor Sto’.” Douglas then led Strings and company through “Hey Joe” for the first time since 2021. The crowning achievement of Strings’ Halloween follow-up was the return of acclaimed actor and musician Tim Blake Nelson, who led the debut of “Act Naturally,” made famous by The Beatles in 1965. Nelson’s presence onstage called Herman, Smith, King, Hull, Lou, Davis and Trucks back up, and the lot of them issued a debut of “Ain’t No More Cane on the Brazos.”
Billy, Trucks, Smith and Masat brought on Strings’ “Leaders,” then a five-year bust-out of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid.” Then, Jacobs, Trucks and Smith supported Billy and his band for further bust-outs of Tom Petty’s “Running Down a Dream” and Bobby Bare’s location-appropriate classic “The Streets of Baltimore.” Finally, after Douglas, Jacobs and Trucks supported Strings’ 2016 classic “Dust in a Baggie,” the complete ensemble of 16 joined in for a rousing rendition of “Y’all Come” to close out the show.
Strings’ 2024 Halloween series will undoubtedly go down as one of his most exciting and adventurous stagings to date, and yet, the bluegrass master will certainly set a new standard in 2025. Fans can watch the Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 performances again with full-show recordings here.
For tickets and more information on Strings’ upcoming performances, visit billystrings.com. See the complete setlist from Friday night on billybase.net.
