After spending the day volunteering in the kitchen at Denver Rescue Mission, guitarist Billy Strings and his super talented band brought their dense bag of tricks out for night two of their three-show run at Denver, Colorado’s Ball Arena Saturday night. Following a rocket ride of a first night that saw bust-outs, wild new song placement, and some out-of-this-world musicianship, expectations were high. With the assemblage of gifted players at Strings’ side, those elevated hopes for a transformative experience were totally justified.
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Warming up with show-opener “Red Daisy”, Billy and the boys got right to work. Royal Masat came in with clockwork precision on “Heartbeat of America”; Billy showed his sensitive side on an emotional “In The Morning Light”; and fiddler Alex Hargreaves led the charge on the John Hartford-penned “All Fall Down”, which also featured some other-worldly string work from Billy.
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After the frankly spellbinding, prolonged “All Fall Down”, they treated the crowd to a speedy “Happy Hollow” that gave way to a transfixing, wistful “Long Forgotten Dream”. “Away From The Mire” was a full-on mind-bending psychedelic assault. Then, following a pause to bring their abused instruments back in tune, Hargreaves set a mellow tone while the rest of the band delivered enchanting four-part harmonies on The Seldom Scene’s “Wait A Minute” that froze the crowd in place. After a twisting and turning “Fire Line” closed out the first set, the hour-long spell was broken and the audience was shocked back to reality.
Strings’ always impressive light show combined with the venue’s trippy, stereophonic sound added a feeling of unreality reminiscent of The Beatles‘ classic “Within You Without You” at the start of the second set. That dark, mystical spirit evolved into a “Hide and Seek” that sent the show in a brand new direction. The “Bronzeback” that Strings and his band materialized next was the closest the band had gotten in the course of the show to traditional bluegrass, with Jarrod Walker showing off his dense range and mastery of the mandolin’s function of fine picking and staccato percussion.
Once that misty, ritualistic opening concluded, Strings took a pause to appreciate the cheers before exhorting the crowd, “Keep it up! I need your energy to make it through this Denver!” The resultant escalation in audience volume was somehow at once as expected and utterly impressive.
Banjo player Billy Failing helped transition the proceeding mystic vibe into a workman-like “John Hardy” before Billy called Alex Hargreaves’ number, treating the crowd to some truly fancy fiddling. Billy himself, always lurking and ever present, fired off a couple mystifyingly fast guitar lines as if to remind his band and fans of his presence. At the end of the spiraling game of chase, even Billy was impressed as he noted to the crowd, “Well, we were moving right along on that one.” The band followed that up with the western ballad “Seven Weeks in County”.
Catching his breath as he told the crowd about the now-fabled origin of “California Sober” and his hang with Willie Nelson that inspired the collaboration, Strings paid homage to Jeff Austin with “Run Down” and then took things soft and low for a hushed, ceremonial cover of Doc Watson‘s “Alberta”. Hargreaves took the lead for the traditional fiddle tune “Sally Goodin” with plenty of support from Walker and Strings. The crowd, now up, was moving and grooving just in time for the next dark interlude, a shadowy rendition of “Secrets” took shape out of “Sally Goodin”’s musical ashes.
Running low on time but not inertia, Strings and his band dug into the Widespread Panic songbook with “Picking Up The Pieces”. Though lacking WSP frontman John Bell‘s smoky vocals, the clean intent and sparkling musicianship on display helped make it all their own. Closing out the second set with one of Strings’ signature tunes—the always welcome “Dust In A Baggie”—the bluegrass juggernaut made sure to remind folks who cast the spell they had been under, bringing the whole show full circle.
During a brief encore break, the boisterous crowd—nearly filling the 21,000-capacity venue, including the typically unavailable obstructed-view seats behind the stage—happily chanted, demanding more. When Strings finally returned to the stage, he marveled at the scene, visibly moved, calling it “just fucking insane” to be playing in front of the nearly encircling audience. As he continued to stand there, observing as the crowd volume escalated maddeningly, the smile on Strings’ face said so much more than words possibly could.
Closing with The Osborne Brothers‘ “Big Spike Hammer” put a nice, boot-scootin’ stamp on the two-plus-hour sonic ritual. The always earnest Strings took to the mic one last time to give sincere thanks to the crowd and announced that Saturday’s turnout had surpassed the record set the night before. “This is absolutely, positively the biggest indoor crowd we’ve ever played for,” he declared, noting, “You guys kicked so much ass! Thank you guys!”
With a final group bow, the show came to a close, leaving Strings and company with just one more night to solidify an already monumental run. With two-thirds of the three-night stand complete, all that remains is to rest up and deliver a powerhouse Sunday performance—one that will cement this tour-opening run as another milestone in their meteoric rise. From a niche bluegrass act to arena-filling superstars, their ascent continues to boggle the mind. Yet through it all, some things remains unchanged, like their unwavering dedication to the music and deep appreciation for the fans.
Tickets for Sunday’s show are sold out, but fans can tune in for a subscriber-exclusive livestream on nugs. 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 – “Red Daisy”, “Heartbeat Of America” – 1/25/25
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Billy Strings – “In The Morning Light” – 1/25/25
[Video: Ellen Cook]
Setlist [via bmfsdb.com]: Billy Strings | Ball Arena | Denver, CO | 1/24/25
Set One: Red Daisy, Heartbeat of America, In the Morning Light, All Fall Down (John Hartford), Happy Hollow, Long Forgotten Dream, Away From the Mire, Wait a Minute (The Seldom Scene), Fire Line
Set Two: Hide and Seek, Bronzeback > John Hardy (Traditional), Seven Weeks in County, California Sober, Run Down (Jeff Austin), Alberta (Doc Watson), Sally Goodin > (Traditional), Secrets, Pickin’ Up the Pieces (Widespread Panic), Dust in a Baggie
Encore: Big Spike Hammer (The Osborne Brothers)