Billy Strings welcomed a slew of talented guests at his second annual String The Halls event at Marathon Music Works in Nashville, TN on Saturday. Billy and his eponymous band—comprised of Billy Failing, Royal Masat, and Jarrod Walker—were joined throughout the night by Molly Tuttle, Jenni Lyn Gardner, Larry Keel, Michael Cleveland, Lindsay Lou, Josh Rilko, Béla Fleck, Abigail Washburn, Kris Meyers, Sierra Hull, Dave Bruzza, Jack Pearson, PJ George, Chris Eldridge, and Daniel Donato.
Many different combinations of musicians took the Nashville stage to play Billy Strings originals, classic covers, and holiday songs to a sold-out room. The event served as a benefit for the Nashville Rescue Mission, an organization dedicated to helping the hungry and homeless in middle Tennessee.
The show opened with “Sled Ride” before the first guest of the night, Molly Tuttle, joined in on “Moonshiner”. Jenni Lyn Gardner then hopped on stage for a couple of songs before Larry Keel and Michael Cleveland sat in on “Christmas Time’s A Comin'” and “The Big Mon”. Béla Fleck and Kris Meyers (Umphrey’s McGee) were featured on a cover of String Cheese Incident‘s “Black Clouds”. Two Christmas covers, “Christmas Lullaby” and “Santa’s Train”, preceded a cover of John Hartford‘s “Vamp in the Middle” and Bill Monroe‘s “Footprints in the Snow”. The band closed the first set with Michael Cleveland’s help on the traditional bluegrass song, “Sally Goodin'”.
Set two began with the Christmas classic “Jingle Bell Rock” ahead of a run through Chuck Berry‘s “Johnny Be Goode”. A cover of B.B. King‘s “Everyday I Have the Blues” led into a cover of The Allman Brothers Band‘s “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed”, highlighted by sit-ins from Meyers, George, and Pearson. “Do What’s Right” and “Wings For Wheels” drove the band into “That’s What Love Will Make You Do”, which featured Lindsay Lou, PJ George, Dave Bruzza on the drums, and Chris Eldridge playing the Telecaster.
Various combinations of musicians ran through “Good Times Bad Times”, “The Shape I’m In”, “Fire”, “Cripple Creek”, “Iko Iko”, and “I’m Just An Old Chunk Of Coal” before everyone took the stage for an “I Saw The Light” encore.
Check out a selection of fan-shot videos from ‘String The Halls 2’ below.
Billy Strings’ tour keeps on rolling into the new year. Two sold-out shows at The Majestic Theatre (12/27-28) come before a sold-out New Year’s Eve show at The Intersection in Grand Rapids, MI (12/31). An extensive tour picks up in January that will see the bluegrass phenom take his talents across the country.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the band’s official website.
You can check out the full setlist from Billy Strings’ second annual “String The Halls” show below.