There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. That is indeed Billy Strings onstage at Nashville’s Station Inn, performing without his guitar. The bluegrass wunderkind dropped in for a surprise sit-in with Nashville mandolinist Ashby Frank on Thursday night.

Though Strings fills arenas thanks in large part to his guitar playing, which blends bluegrass flatpicking with heavy metal riffs, on Thursday, he showed off his vocal prowess. Bringing it all back to bluegrass forefather Bill Monroe, Strings took a turn on lead vocals for “Can’t You Hear Me Callin'”.

Strings performed alongside a Nashville hit-squad that included Mumford & Sons multi-instrumentalist Matt Menefee, Sister Sadie singer Jaelee Roberts, and Mountain Heart/Toy Factory Project’s Josh Shilling, among others. Between verses, Strings listened intently to the playing around him, at one point picking up a discarded string from the floor to pantomime pick with the band.

 

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When not commenting on Widespread Panic videos, String has been making his rounds at Nashville hotspots lately. After wrapping his winter tour with an all-original show at Ryman Auditorium on February 22nd, Billy was back at The Mother Church the following weekend to partake in an all-star celebration of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. The 25th-anniversary concert featured Strings alongside Alison Krauss, Dan Tyminski, Emmylou Harris, Del McCoury, Old Crow Medicine Show, Molly Tuttle, and many more.

Then this past week, Billy Strings dropped by the Station Inn to join Ashby Frank. Maybe next weekend he’ll show up at Grimey’s to pick up the new Johnny Blue Skies record (the way we were supposed to listen to it).

Strings will grab his guitar and hit the road for a spring tour in April, starting with a sold-out, three-night run in St. Augustine, FL (4/2–4/4), followed by shows throughout the Southeast and Midwest. Find tickets and tour dates here.