Billy Strings Begins December Run With First Of Two Arena Gigs In Memphis [Videos]

On Friday night at Memphis, TN’s FedEx Forum guitarist Billy Strings and his band fired up their 2024 fall tour for one last spate of shows before year’s end.

Assuming his recent bid to become Primus’ new drummer doesn’t pan out, it looks like Strings will have to stick with his guitar wizardry—much to the delight of his legions of fans. The good folks of Memphis who packed the arena for the show Friday night had already faced below-freezing temperature before the first note had been struck and deserved a little extra for the effort. Luckily, it seems like Billy Strings and his magic six-string fingers had a little something extra to give as always.

The stellar squad of players Strings’ has assembled are not any kind of slouches, either. In fact, it was top-notch banjo picker Billy Failing who pushed the proceedings into overdrive right out of the gate with his band leader, Billy Strings, only happy to join him. After the high-energy openers “Ice Bridges” and “Taking Water”, tunings were checked and arena settings were sonically dialed, “Gone A Long Time” was waiting ready to go.

From there it was time for a wistful, heart stirring “Bound To Ride” (The Stanley Brothers) with some wonderful fiddle work from Alex Hargreaves offset by some fierce, distorted, echo-laden Strings runs. Alex took the feature spot on the opening of the next tune, “Sally Goodin”, not that Strings was going to let his own solo section of the instrumental break or the psychedelic branch into “The Fire On My Tongue” go to waste. After sneaking a little “Bronzeback” into that mix and briefly catching their, the band whipped out the heartfelt bit of isolation and frustration that is their version of Larry Sparks‘ “John Deere Tractor”.

“In The Clear” came into focus and faded out before a lovely rendition of “The Cuckoo” and some cosmic improvisation on “Long Forgotten Dream”. With that psychedelic third rail touched, it was time for “Turmoil & Tinfoil” to—sonically, at least—take hold of that mindset with both hands, ignite the fuse ,and hold on for dear life. This extrasensory musical trip out to the far reaches of the universe and back courtesy of Strings and his merry band not only closed out the set but overloaded many a mind into full-on meltdown.

After a decidedly sparse, four part acapella intro, “Leaning on a Travelin’ Song” fired up the second set right where the first ended, with the rest of the tune burning hot and clean. Next up was a “Likes Of Me” featuring a “Blink and you’ll miss it” magic moment that was one of the finest of the evening. As Billy, a new father, sang the hard-luck song describing all the things not suited for “for the likes of me,” he sang the portion about not “having a son to bounce up on my knee” and flashed a humble smile to the crowd, wordlessly appreciating the fact that the fate of the song’s narrator was not his own. It was a fleeting expression, but one that both humanized and endeared the already good-natured guitar hero all the more.

Things got a bit sinister for the murder ballad “My Alice” but the jovial tuning banter directly after, not to mention the crackling “Red Daisy” that followed, got the mood back bright and free wheeling. The intense pace set by mandolinist Jarrod Walker on the final passages of that tune rivaled anything bandleader String laid down all night.

Going from one end of the sonic spectrum to the other the instrumental “Seney Stretch” gave everyone onstage a chance to limber up for the home stretch. “Don’t Be Calling Me (at 4 AM)” and the failed relationship at its lyrical core came and went quickly, though that sorrowful mood lingered a bit on a bluesy “Love and Regret”—particularly in the lonesome work from Hargreaves and the nigh maudlin vocals from Billy himself.

“Happy Hollow” picked up the pace yet again, and the twisting and relentless nature of “Seven Weeks In County” got the mood a bit more fiery and strident. Everyone in the band got a chance to showcase their particular sets of skills on “Walk On Boy” before Failing took a well-deserved lead on “Shenandoah Breakdown”. On the rendition of Eddie Noack’s “Psycho” that followed, Strings channeled the subject matter for some of the evenings darkest, most tormented exhibition.

Royal Masat brought a thick, rubbery bass line to life during a “Hide and Seek” that threatened to crack the stage with it’s sheer sonic weight. Billy Strings made the most of the density he had under his feet, getting after it in a firestorm tear up and down his fretboard.

Finally, an “Old Slew Foot” encore brought night one of two at FedEx Forum to a close, capping a solid part one and setting up what is sure to be a monster Memphis finale on Saturday. Find tickets for upcoming Billy Strings shows here.

Below, check out the full setlist and watch a selection of videos from night one of Billy Strings in Memphis.

Billy Strings will offer a livestream of Saturday’s Memphis closer and the rest of his fall tour dates for not additional cost to nugs.net subscribers. Not subscribed? Sign up here to access these and other subscriber-exclusive livestreams in addition to an extensive catalog of live concert recordings. [Editor’s Note: Live For Live Music is a nugs affiliate. Ordering your nugs subscription or purchasing a download/Billy Strings livestream via the links on this page helps support our coverage of the world of live music. Thank you for reading!]

Billy Strings – “Ice Bridges” [Pro-Shot] – 12/6/24

Billy Strings – “Bound to Ride” (Stanley Brothers) – 12/6/24
[Video: MB1 Music]

Billy Strings – “The Cuckoo” > “Long Forgotten Dream” – 12/6/24
[Video: MB1 Music]

Billy Strings – “My Alice” – 12/6/24

[Video: MB1 Music]

Billy Strings – “Seven Weeks In County” – 12/6/24
[Video: MB1 Music]

Setlist [via BillyBase]: Billy Strings | FedEx Forum | Memphis, TN | 12.6.24

Set One: Ice Bridges > Taking Water, Gone A Long Time, Bound To Ride, Sally Goodin > The Fire On My Tongue > Bronzeback, John Deere Tractor, In the Clear, The Cuckoo > Long Forgotten Dream, Turmoil & Tinfoil
Set Two: Leaning On A Travelin’ Song, Likes Of Me > Know It All, My Alice, Red Daisey, Seney Stretch, Don’t Be Calling Me (at 4 AM), Love And Regret, Happy Hollow, Seven Weeks in County, Walk On Boy, Shenandoah Breakdown, Psycho > Hide And Seek
Encore: Old Slew Foot