Billy Strings opened a three-night run in his adopted hometown of Nashville, TN with an undeniable heater of a show last night—the first of two nights at Bridgestone Arena before he returns to the Mother Church of Country Music, Ryman Auditorium, for a bluegrass Sunday service.
Friday’s setlist was loaded with fan favorites, starting with a geographically apropos cover of Jimmy Martin‘s “Tennessee”. A strings of beloved originals came next, with “Red Daisy” followed by “Malfunction Junction”, which gave way to “Secret”. “Gild the Lily” has become an unlikely jam vehicle at recent shows, but Friday’s version was relatively tame, with soulful solos from Alex Hargreaves on fiddle and Strings on guitar. The song that introduced many to Strings, “Dust In A Baggie”, picked the energy back up before a cover of Mel Tillis‘ “Walk on Boy”.
The surprise highlight of the set then arrived as Strings welcomed Anders Beck of Greensky Bluegrass, whom billy referred to as his “favorite band ever ever ever.” The augmented ensemble played GSBG favorite “Reverend” and the bluegrassified traditional “Katy Daley” before Beck left it to the core quintet to finish the first frame off with a standout “Away From The Mire” and “New Country Blues” from Drew Emmitt (Leftover Salmon) and Bill Nershi‘s (The String Cheese Incident) duo collaboration.
Returning for set two, Strings and Billy Failing swapped instruments, with the former wielding his Masterton ML-1: Missing Link Béla Fleck Baritone Banjo and the latter on guitar during “Leadfoot”. After another sequence that included “Love and Regret”, the traditional “Dusty Miller”, “Hello City Limits” (a song first released by Harley “Red” Allen in 1965), and Strings’ collab with Willie Nelson “California Sober”, the band paid tribute to Jeff Austin with a cover of his song “Run Down”.
Related: Billy Strings’ Asheville Run Brings In $15 Million To Local Economy
Strings stepped to the front of the stage as the rest of the band exited, leaving him to play a solo version of “Nashville Blues”, another suitable selection for the venue. The two Billys then teamed up on “Froggie Went A-Courtin’”, which they dedicated to Billy Failing’s wife.
Taking flight during “Stratosphere Blues”, the band then shifted gears for “I Believe in You”, which saw Strings take up his MArtin 12-string, Royal Masat on keyboard, and Failing on baritone banjo. Finishing strong with a string of “On The Line”, “Train 45”, and “Ruby”, the band welcomed Anders Beck back to help close the set with an exceptional “Meet Me At The Creek”.
After two impeccable sets, Strings and company capped off the evening with an unforgettable encore, starting with the band gathered around a single mic sans Hargreaves for “Richard Petty”. Jason Carter of Del McCoury Band and the Travelin’ McCourys joined in on “With Body & Soul”, played for the first time since 2023 (a 105 show gap), and stuck around to close out the night with the debut of the traditional “Katy Hill” and a nightcap cover of Bill Monroe‘s “Uncle Pen”.
Strings returns to Bridgestone Arena tonight for an encore performance before moving over to the Ryman on Sunday. Tickets for tonight’s show are available here. Sunday is already sold out, but you can always try CashOrTrade. If you can’t make it to the show, nugs is streaming the entire run to subscribers at no additional cost. Not a nugs subscriber? Start with a seven-day free trial. [Editor’s Note: Live For Live Music is a nugs affiliate. Ordering your nugs subscription or purchasing a download via the links on this page helps support our coverage of the world of live music. Thank you for reading!]
Billy Strings – “Tennessee” (Jimmy Martin), “Red Daisy”, “Malfunction Junction” – 2/28/25
Setlist [via Billy Base]: Billy Strings | Bridgestone Arena | Nashville, TN | 2/28/25
Set 1: Tennessee (Jimmy Martin), Red Daisy, Malfunction Junction > Secrets, Gild the Lily, Dust In A Baggie, Walk on Boy (Mel Tillis), Reverend (Greensky Bluegrass) [1], Katy Daley (Traditional) [1], Away From The Mire, New Country Blues (Emmit-Nershi Band)
Set 2: Leadfoot [2], Love and Regret, Dusty Miller (Traditional), Hello City Limits (Harley “Red” Allen), California Sober > Run Down (Jeff Austin), Nashville Blues [3], Froggie Went A-Courtin’ (Traditional) [4, 5], Stratosphere Blues > I Believe in You [6], On The Line > Train 45 (Traditional), Ruby (Cousin Emmy), Meet Me At The Creek [1]
Encore: Richard Petty [7], With Body & Soul (Virginia Stauffer) [8, 9], Katy Hill (Traditional) [8, 10], Uncle Pen Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys) [8]
Notes:
1. With Anders Beck (Greensky Bluegrass) on dobro
2. Billy Strings on his Masterton ML-1: Missing Link Béla Fleck Baritone Banjo & Billy Failing on Guitar
3. Billy Strings solo front of stage
4. Billy Strings and Billy Failing duo front of stage
5. Dedicated to Mrs. Failing, Billy Failing’s wife
6. Billy Strings on a Martin 12-String HD12-28, Royal Masat on a Nord Stage 3 88-Key Keyboard & Billy Failing on Masterton ML-1: Missing Link Béla Fleck Baritone Banjo
7. Full band (minus Alex) around single mic front of stage
8. Full band with Jason Carter on fiddle around single mic front of stage
9. Last Time Played 2023-09-14 | 105 show gap
10. FTP – Traditional