Where He’s Been, Where He’s Gone: Billy Strings Nods to Bob Dylan Sit-in and Hometown on Final Night in Grand Rapids
Photo: Stevo Rood
On Saturday, May 31, Billy Strings returned to Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., for his second and final appearance at this location on his current Spring outing. Last night’s performance bolstered nods to the frontman’s past during the concert’s second half, including a cover that winked at his recent sit-in with Bob Dylan on Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Tour, and later, a direct ode to his roots by pulling out The Dillards’ “Old Home Place.”
Prior to the arrival of the previously mentioned second set moments, Strings, Billy Failing (banjo), Royal Masat (bass), Jarrod Walker (mandolin), and Alex Hargreaves (fiddle) began the night with a nonstop sequence of staple tracks, the Home featured “Must Be Seven” into an extemporized “Meet Me at the Creek,” complete with a tease the Inspector Gadget theme. The band wasted no time picking up Larry Sparks’ “John Deere Tractor,” ahead of “Thirst Mutilator” into “Taking Water,” sans pause.
The initial set of music continued to lean into originals with “My Alice,” “Seven Weeks in County,” and “Slow Train” preluding Bobby Davidson’s “If Your Hair Is Too Long, There’s Sin In Your Heart,” which was delivered by the whole band, except Hargreaves, around a single mic, and positioned at the front of stage. The fiddler joined his bandmates on The Stanley Brothers’ “Harbor of Love,” remaining at center till ensuing arrival and return to originals on “Malfunction Junction.”
After ending the first set on the traditional “Little Maggie,” the band paused the performance during the halfway point, returning and finding their reentry on “Leadfoot,” featuring Strings on his Masterton ML-1: Missing Link Béla Fleck Baritone Banjo and Failing on guitar. After turning in the first song of the second set, the band meticulously moved through a cover of “Whisper My Name” prior to “Love Like Me,” which brushed into Strings’ take on “Tangled Up in Blue,” which emerged as a bust out on April 12, 2025, following a three year hiatus. Notably, its placement came after Strings’ eight-stop stint on Willie Nelson’s traveling Outlaw Tour, when he joined Dylan, during the bard’s frame at the ONE Stadium in Spokane, Wash., on May 22.
After singling out a historic live music moment in his recent history, Strings proceeded with a hefty offering of staple songs before the final ode to his pre-success roots, by co-opting The Dilliards, turned Phish release, “Old Home Place,” for the first time since Sept. 27, 2024, ending a 53 show lapse. While, Grand Rapids might not be Strings’ exact hometown, the location is a short distance from his Lansing, Mich. birthplace, by less than 70 miles.
Following this weekend’s run, Strings will make his next locationally specific appearance, June 6-7, at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill. Tickets remain on sale. For those unable to attend in person, stream Strings’ Spring Tour on nugs.net.
Billy Strings
Van Andel Arena – Grand Rapids, Mich.
May 31, 2025
Set I: Must Be Seven > Meet Me At The Creek1, John Deere Tractor, Thirst Mutilator > Taking Water, My Alice, Seven Weeks in County, Slow Train, If Your Hair Is Too Long, There’s Sin In Your Heart2, Harbor of Love3, Malfunction Junction > Little Maggie
Set II: Leadfoot4, Love and Regret, Whisper My Name, Love Like Me, Tangled Up In Blue > All Fall Down, Catch and Release5, Brown’s Ferry Blues5, Sally Goodin > Know It All, I’m One Of Those, Turmoil & Tinfoil, The Beginning of the End, Old Home Place6
Setlist notes:
- “Inspector Gadget” (Levy & Saban) tease
- Full band (minus Alex) around single mic, front of stage
- Full band around single mic, front of stage
- Billy Strings on his Masterton ML-1: Missing Link Béla Fleck Baritone Banjo & Billy Failing on Guitar
- Billy Strings solo
- Last Time Played 2024-09-27 | 53 show gap
