Rather than taking the night off, Billy Strings spent his Wednesday evening back on stage pickin’ and grinnin’ with Shadowgrass in Raleigh. The show at the Lincoln Theatre in the North Carolina state capital came ahead of Strings’ three-night run at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in nearby Cary this weekend.

Strings joined the party well into the set and hung around for the frame’s final five songs, adding up to an impressive nearly 40 minutes. Together, they tackled bluegrass classics “Nine Pound Hammer”,  Keith Allison‘s “Freeborn Man”, and the oft-covered traditional “Long Journey Home”, plus Charlie Daniels Band‘s “Trudy”.

While Strings was certainly a main attraction on stage, even the Grammy-winning, arena-packing bluegrass phenom’s jaw was agape as he watched Shadowgrass’ Kyser George on the improvisational intro to “Freeborn Man”. True to the communal nature of bluegrass and his own modest sensibilities, Strings made sure the whole Shadowgrass band got involved on the big finale, a 13-minute “Reuben’s Train” that ended the set. Shadowgrass ultimately returned to the stage sans Billy but with co-headliner Clay Street Unit to close the show with a “Midnight Rider” encore.

Billy Strings has made no secret of his ardent support for Shadowgrass. He invited the band to perform at his 2023 curated Renewal festival in Colorado, and even stopped by the group’s set for a sit-in. That same evening, Shadowgrass returned the favor by joining Billy and his band on stage to close out the festival with jams on songs from The David Grisman Quartet, Bill Monroe, Jimmie Skinner, and more. Revisit Live For Live Music‘s coverage of the 2023 festival finale here.

Watch Billy Strings sit in with Shadowgrass in Raleigh. Strings will wrap his spring tour this weekend with three nights in Cary, NC before heading to the West Coast to join Willie Nelson on his traveling Outlaw Music Festival tour. Shadowgrass’ tour with Clay Street Unit continues this week with shows in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Brooklyn. Find tickets and tour dates on Billy Strings‘ and Shadowgrass‘ websites.

Shadowgrass, Billy Strings — “Nine Pound Hammer” (Traditional), “Trudy” (Charlie Daniels Band), “Freeborn Man” (Keith Allison, Mark Lindsay), “Long Journey Home” (Traditional), “Reuben’s Train” (Traditional) — 4/16/25

[Video: Laura Dowling]