After a stellar weekend run in Savannah, GA, Billy Strings and his band headed to the Blue Ridge Mountains for a one-night stand in Charlottesville, VA. On a windy spring night, Strings started with an ode to Virginia—a fiery take on the traditional “John Hardy”—before easing the crowd in with two picks from his recent album Highway Prayers, “Malfunction Junction” and “In the Clear”.

Once his fans were locked in, Strings, alongside Jarrod Walker, Royal Masat, Billy Failing, and Alex Hargreaves, set John Paul Jones Arena ablaze with a raucous and timely “Wargasm”. A beautiful rendition of The Seldom Scene’s “Wait a Minute” followed, featuring heavenly mandolin work from Walker, before the band slipped into a 12-minute “Shenandoah Breakdown”. Though he hasn’t covered a Grateful Dead song since performing with Bob Weir in 2022, Billy Strings treated the crowd with a tease of the all-time Dead classic “Scarlet Begonias” before “Shenandoah Breakdown” came to a close. Strings has previously stated that there are “too many pigs” suckling on the teat of the Grateful Dead legacy.

Billy Strings — “John Hardy” (Traditional), “Malfunction Junction”, “In the Clear” > “So Many Miles” — 4/15/25

Billy Strings — “Shenandoah Breakdown” (Bill Monroe) > “Secrets” — 4/15/25

[Video: Steve Maurer]

The band introduced the second set with its foot on the gas, quite literally. As engine sounds roared and Billy’s foot-tapping banjo pickin’ rang throughout the arena, crowd favorite “Leadfoot” set the tone for the rest of the night. On a scorching cover of The Delmore Brothers’ “Blues Stay Away From Me”, Royal’s pulsing bass elevated the jam to new heights before Alex and his fiddle took the baton and ran toward the familiar thrills of “On The Line”. Showing a more tender side, the crowd was swooned with a “Moonlight Waltz” from Mr. Walker that transported C’ville to a peaceful Mediterranean beach before gliding into “Show Me the Door”, all crescendoing into a chillingly beautiful cover of Doc Watson’s “My Love Comes Rolling Down”.

Then came the beast. Once the arena was properly smitten, the ominous riff of Strings’ songbook behemoth “Meet Me At the Creek” emerged from Failing’s banjo. Like sorcerers at work, the band slowly and meticulously added venomous chemicals to its steaming cauldron of a jam. Solo by solo, the brew thickened and peaked somewhere in the abyss of the 22-minute journey. Then, as if nothing had happened, as if he hadn’t just talked to aliens or drawn volcanic power from the Earth’s core, he opened his eyes and flashed his signature grin. The gig was a testament to his deep and diverse arsenal of songs, showing once again that no matter the combination, Billy Strings and his band of misfits will bring the heat.

Billy Strings — “Meet Me At The Creek” (Partial) — 4/15/25

[Video: Loma Deren]

Billy Strings’ spring tour continues this weekend with three nights in Cary, NC. Find tickets and a full list of tour dates here. Fans can stream the shows live on nugs. Not a nugs subscriber yet? Sign up here. [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 — “It Ain’t Before” > “Dealing Despair” — 4/15/25

[Video: Loma Deren]

Setlist: Billy Strings | John Paul Jones Arena | Charlottesville, VA | 4/15/25

Set One: John Hardy (Traditional), Malfunction Junction, In the Clear > So Many Miles [1], Everything’s The Same, Slipstream (Béla Fleck), Wargasm, Wait a Minute (Herb Pedersen), She Left Me Standing on the Mountain (Delmore Brothers) [2], This Old World, Escanaba, Shenandoah Breakdown (Bill Monroe) [3], Secrets
Set Two: Leadfoot [4], No End Of Love (John Hartford) [4] [5], Think Of What You’ve Done (The Stanley Brothers & The Clicnch Mountain Boys), Blues Stay Away From Me (Delmore Brothers) > On The Line > Train 45 (Traditional), It Ain’t Before > Dealing Despair, Lonesome Moonlight Waltz (Bill Monroe) [6], Show Me The Door, Must Be Seven, My Love Come Rolling Down (Eric Von Schmidt) > Meet Me At The Creek
Encore: The Beginning of the End, Roll On Buddy, Roll On (Traditional)

[1] Billy Failing on lead vocals
[2] FTP – Delmore Brothers
[3] “Scarlet Begonias” (Grateful Dead) tease
[4] Billy Strings on his Masterton ML-1: Missing Link Béla Fleck Baritone Banjo & Billy Failing on Guitar
[5] Last Time Played 2021-11-21 | 306 show gap
[6] Last Time Played 2023-09-27 | 110 show gap