Billy Strings will be pickin’, singin’, and gamblin’ for three nights in New Orleans to close out 2024. The bluegrass guitarist revealed a gambling theme for his New Year’s Eve run at UNO Lakefront Arena on December 29th, 30th, and 31st.
According to a post on Strings’ official social media channels, the theme will extend beyond the stage. Audience members will be able to support local charities through “games of chance, table games, and more” during the run in Louisiana where gambling is legal. Additionally, Strings will host a “song submission sweepstakes,” allowing fans to submit and vote on their favorite tracks. The songs with the most votes will be included during the run.
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Strings’ third-annual New Year’s run at UNO Lakefront Arena will cap off yet another milestone year for the mountain music phenom. This year saw the release of Billy’s first-ever live album, Live Vol. 1, and his fourth original studio album Highway Prayers which was the first bluegrass album to top the Billboard Top Album Sales Chart since 2002. The previous record-holder was the soundtrack to the Coen Brothers‘ O Brother, Where Art Thou? which Strings honored with a Halloween reproduction in Baltimore featuring frequent collaborators Sierra Hull, Lindsay Lou, Duane Trucks, and Vince Herman as well as original cast members Tim Blake Nelson and Chris Thomas King.
Beyond all his professional achievements, 2024 witnessed the birth of Billy’s first child River Roy Apostol on September 29th, which happened to overlap with Strings’ Renewal festival in Colorado. Hours before Strings was due to open the festival, Billy’s wife Ally Apostol went into labor and Billy immediately hopped on a jet (borrowed from Ringo Starr) to witness his son’s birth. Meanwhile, fans back at the festival were entertained by a series of subs including Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Mountain Grass Unit, Jerry Douglas Band, Jon Stickley, and others before receiving full refunds for the weekend.
Find tickets for Billy Strings’ 2024 New Year’s run in New Orleans on Ticketmaster or try your hand at the secondary market. Fans can also tune in to livestreams of his ongoing winter tour on nugs.net. Not subscribed? Sign up here to access these and other subscriber-exclusive livestreams in addition to an extensive catalog of live concert recordings. [Editor’s Note: Live For Live Music is a nugs affiliate. Ordering your nugs subscription or purchasing a download/Billy Strings livestream via the links on this page helps support our coverage of the world of live music. Thank you for reading!]