Billy Strings on Friday brought his ongoing summer tour to Portland, ME’s scenic waterside venue, Thompson’s Point, where he added a pair of new covers to his live repertoire.
To open the performance, Strings and his bombastic bluegrass band—featuring Billy Failing, Jarrod Walker, Royal Masat, and Alex Hargreaves—took a cue from their coastal surroundings with their first ever stab at “Drifting With The Tide”, first recorded and released by Don Reno, Smiley and The Tennessee Cutups in 1952 and later recreated by Del McCoury in 1978.
Billy Strings – “Drifting With The Tide” (Don Reno, Smiley and The Tennessee Cutups, FTP) [Pro-Shot] – 7/28/23
Later, the band closed its first set by paying homage to Willie Nelson, with whom the lauded guitarist/bandleader just collaborated on a new single, “California Sober“, by pairing two songs that Nelson has famously covered through the years. First, the band dove into the first-ever Billy Strings performance of “Whiskey River”, the Johnny Bush-penned lament that has long been a signature song for Willie, and
“Stay All Night (Stay a Little Longer)”, first recorded by Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys in 1945 and later adopted by Nelson for a Top 40 single in 1973.
Billy Strings – “Whiskey River” (Johnny Bush, FTP) > “Stay All Night (Stay a Little Longer)” (Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys) – 7/28/23
[Video: Matt Frazier]
Other highlights of the performance included a sprawling rendition of “Hide and Seek” that wound its way through J.J. Cale‘s “Ride Me High” and back again to close set two.
Billy Strings and the gang return to Thompson’s Point tonight, Saturday, July 29th. For a full list of upcoming tour dates, head here.
View the full setlist from Friday night’s Billy Strings show at Portland, ME’s Thompson’s Point below. Scroll down to check out a gallery of photos from the performance via Vic Brazen.
