On Saturday, Billy Strings performed the second of two shows at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, WA. When the quintet emerged they performed a few bars of “Happy Birthday” in honor of banjoist Billy Failing, who had just turned 37, while the crowd serenaded the banjoist. As the night proceeded, a celebrated mandolin player also earned his share of recognition.
Halfway through the first set, David “Dawg” Grisman emerged and joined the group for six songs. First up was Grisman’s own “Dawg’s Waltz,” which was a debut for Strings and his group. The traditional “Shady Grove” came next, followed by “Slinky,” another Grisman tune that the group was playing for the first time. Then the six musicians played “I Told Them All About You,” the Cliff Friend song that Grisman recorded with Doc Watson on the 1997 record, Doc & Dawg.
While the musicians were tuning before the next song, Grisman addressed the crowd, He said, “Friends, I can’t tell you how much this means to me. This guy, I’ve known quite a bunch of famous people, but he’s got more talent than any of them. And he respects where it all came from. In fact, he loves where it all came from, and I’m so grateful to him for spreading this gospel that we both love. I mean, there’s all kinds of music in the world, and great music in fact. And the more that all you folks that fill this kind of place can know about that stuff, maybe you’ll go find a Doc Watson record, or the Stanley Brothers, or Mozart or Benny Goodman.”
Then Grisman writing instrumentals, explaining, “I like to dedicate them to various folks, and when Billy and I decided to do some recording, I wrote a tune for him….This tune is called ‘Billy of the Strings.’ I’m really honored to give the world premiere here tonight with these guys.”
Following the composition, they closed out the set with a final Grisman selection, “Pigeon Roost.”
Check out all six songs below:
