Billy Strings Teases “Feel Like a Stranger” During “Thunder” on Night Two in Asheville
On Wednesday evening, Billy Strings retook the stage at the ExploreAsheville.com Arena in Asheville, N.C., for the second in a string of four live installments that will carry through the weekend. After setting the pace the night prior, the ensemble had reached an ideal zone to flood the show with teases–tickles of classics from the Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers Band, The Beatles, and New Grass Revival, at different times.
The concert kicked off with a trio of original songs, beginning with “Dust in a Baggie” fused with “Everything’s The Same,” and delivered as one movement ahead of “In The Morning Light.” Founding member of Yonder Mountain String Band, the late Jeff Austin’s self-penned “Run Down” and “Pretty Daughter” emerged as an amalgamated pair, before a piece off Turmoil & Tinfoil, “Doin’ Things Right.”
Next, Strings and the band, Billy Failing, Royal Masat, Alex Hargreaves and Jarrod Walker, looked to the greats on the Carter Stanley scribed “The Lonesome River.” The group delivered a run of originals that included “Know It All,” “Seney Stretch,” and “Don’t Be Calling Me (at 4 AM),” ahead of set one’s final move. Before the halftime break, the group started up “Thunder,” the song given to Strings by Bill Kreutzmann, featuring unpublished Robert Hunter lyrics and music composed by the recipient. During the delivery, Strings added a jolt of recognition to the Grateful Dead by teasing the Go to Heaven standard, Bobby Weir’s co-written “Feels Like a Stranger.”
After the set break, Strings took the stage alone and demonstrated mastery over his own instrument on “Guitar Peace.” The song featured intricate waves of other people’s music, evoking teases that referenced The Beatles’ “Here Comes The Sun” and The Allman Brothers Band’s “Little Martha.” The band retook the stage, joining Strings for his “Fearless” follow-up. The group continued with “Leaders,” “Dealing Despair,” which included the final tease of the night, New Grass Revival’s “This Heart of Mine.”
Blaze Foley’s “Cold Cold World” continued the segment that went on to include “Thirst Mutilator” > “Running,” “Enough To Leave” and “California Sober” before the bluegrass traditional “Alberta.” Strings’ own “Watch It Fall” and John Hartford’s “All Fall Down” served as the night’s final pieces.
After Wednesday night’s concert, Strings will take a break from the stage this evening, Thursday, Feb. 12, and will resume his run on Friday, Feb. 13, and Saturday, Feb. 14. These concerts are sold out. For more information, visit www.billystrings.com/tour.
Billy Strings
ExploreAsheville.com Arena – Asheville, N.C.
Feb. 11, 2026
Set I: Dust In A Baggie > Everything’s The Same, In The Morning Light, Run Down > Pretty Daughter, Doin’ Things Right, The Lonesome River, Know It All, Seney Stretch, Don’t Be Calling Me (at 4 AM), Thunder1
Set II: Guitar Peace2,3,4 Fearless5, Leaders, Dealing Despair6, Cold Cold World, Thirst Mutilator Running, Enough To Leave, California Sober, Alberta, Watch It Fall, All Fall Down
Notes:
- “This Heart Of Mine” (New Grass Revival) Fake-out intro
- “Feel Like A Stranger” (Grateful Dead) tease
- Billy Strings solo
- “Here Comes The Sun” (The Beatles) tease
- “Little Martha” (The Allman Brothers Band) tease
- The band joins Billy on stage
