After calling out ICE and calling up prog rock legend Edgar Winter to sit in on Friday, Billy Strings continued his three-night hometown run with a second sold-out show at Nashville, TN’s Bridgestone Arena on Saturday—this time featuring special guest appearances from both Ronnie McCoury and Nat Smith.
The night’s first notable guest arrived at the end of a relatively straightforward first set, when Del McCoury Band mandolinist (and son of Del McCoury) Ronnie McCoury joined the band for his own song “Baltimore Johnny”, Bill Monroe‘s “On and On” and “Highway Hypnosis”, a fan favorite he cowrote with Strings and Heaven McCoury.
The setlist also paid tribute to a couple of jamgrass touchstones: Greensky Bluegrass‘ “Reverend” made an appearance early in the night, and Emmit-Nershi Band‘s “New Country Blues” surfaced in the second set.
The evening’s other sit-in came late in the second set, when cellist Nat Smith emerged for “15 Steps” by Jeff Austin—another jamgrass giant—and Highway Prayers standout “Gild the Lily”.
After opening the encore with “We Shall All Be Reunited”, Strings finished the show on a high and long-held note with “Little Maggie”.
Check out some photos video highlights from night two at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. Scroll down to view the full setlist. The entire show is available to stream on demand via nugs.
Strings’ winter tour concludes tonight with a special show at Ryman Auditorium. Tickets are sold out, but nugs subscribers can watch the show live and on demand. Start streaming here. [Editor’s note: Live For Live Music is a nugs affiliate. Ordering your subscription or purchasing a download via the links on this page helps support our work covering the world of live music. Thanks for reading!]
Billy Strings – “Malfunction Junction” > “Know It All” – 2/21/26
Billy Strings – “The Reverend” (Greensky Bluegrass) – 2/21/26
[Video: Doug Heck]
Billy Strings With Ronnie McCoury – “Baltimore Johnny” (Ronnie McCoury) – 2/21/26
[Video: Doug Heck]
Billy Strings With Ronnie McCoury – “Highway Hypnosis” – 2/21/26
[Video: Doug Heck]
Billy Strings – “Leaning On A Travelin’ Song” – 2/21/26
[Video: Doug Heck]
Billy Strings – “Dust In A Baggie” – 2/21/26
[Video: Doug Heck]
Billy Strings – “Away From The Mire” – 2/21/26
[Video: Doug Heck]
Billy Strings – “Long Forgotten Dream” – 2/21/26
[Video: Doug Heck]
Billy Strings – “New Country Blues” (Emmit-Nershi Band) – 2/21/26
[Video: Doug Heck]
Billy Strings – “Stratosphere Blues / I Believe In You” – 2/21/26
[Video: Doug Heck]
Billy Strings – “Taking Water” – 2/21/26
[Video: Doug Heck]
Billy Strings – “Seney Stretch” – 2/21/26
[Video: Doug Heck]
Billy Strings With Nat Smith – “15 Steps” (Jeff Austin) – 2/21/26
[Video: Doug Heck]
Billy Strings With Nat Smith – “Gild The Lily” – 2/21/26
[Video: Doug Heck]
Billy Strings – “We Shall All Be Reunited” (Newton S. Sitzlar) – 2/21/26
[Video: Doug Heck]
Billy Strings – “Little Maggie” (Traditional) – 2/21/26
[Video: Doug Heck]
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Setlist [via BillyBase]: Billy Strings | Bridgestone Arena | Nashville, TN | 2/20/26
Set 1: Malfunction Junction > Know It All, While I’m Waiting Here, Reverend (Greensky Bluegrass), In The Morning Light, Baltimore Johnny (Ronnie McCoury) [1][2],
On and On (Bill Monroe) [1], Highway Hypnosis [1]
Set 2: Leaning on a Travelin’ Song, Dust In A Baggie, 10,000 Miles From A Friend, Away From The Mire, Long Forgotten Dream, New Country Blues (Emmit-Nershi Band), Stratosphere Blues / I Believe in You [3], Taking Water, Seney Stretch, 15 Steps (Jeff Austin) [4], Gild the Lily [4]
Encore: We Shall All Be Reunited (Newton S. Sitzlar), Little Maggie (Traditional)
[1] w/ Ronnie McCoury on mandolin
[2] Mandolin intro with Jarrod Walker and Ronnie McCoury, who wrote “Baltimore Johnny”
[3] Billy Strings on a Martin Grand J-28E, Royal Masat on a Nord Stage 3 88-Key Keyboard & Billy Failing on Masterton ML-1: Missing Link Béla Fleck Baritone Banjo
[4] w/ Nathaniel Smith on cello