Billy Strings closed out his four-night outdoor run at Historic Columbia Speedway in Cayce, SC on Sunday with a show that straddled the line between traditional and psychedelic. With the South Carolina run behind him, Strings and company are “Alabama Bound” for three nights at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile next weekend.

The early Sunday show kicked off with the instrumental “Tipper“, taken from the Tony Rice catalog. As opposed to the preceding three nights – which saw frigid temperatures as the sun dipped below the horizon over Cayce – the early Sunday show was met with warmer temperatures as fans basked in the warmer South Carolina climate. The traditional aura of the show took a slight detour with a debut of “Hickory Wind” by The Byrds, before returning to time-tested bluegrass with The Stanley Brothers‘ “Katy Daley“.

Next came the reflective “Watch It Fall” from Strings’ own songbook before the band moved on with the pairing of Doc Watson‘s “Train That Carried My Girl From Town” into another Watson composition in “Black Mountain Rag”. Strings then dipped their toes into improvisational territory with Bill Monroe‘s “Dusty Miller” into Johnny Horton‘s “Ole Slewfoot”. Set one then came to a close with a pair of originals with “This Old World” before the title track to Strings’ Grammy-winning album Home closed out the first frame.

While the first set was filled with nods to traditional bluegrass staples – as are many Sunday shows – the second set proved a completely different animal.

After opening up with the sing-along “This Heart of Mine”, Billy took the group through “Dealing Despair” before “Leaders” saw the ensemble explore open waters. Following a brief run-through of Bill Monroe’s “Bluegrass Breakdown”, it was time for what proved to be the improvisational highlight of the evening with the performance of “All Fall Down”.

The John Hartford-penned tune of pot-induced paranoia gave way to an extensive jam that saw the song inch toward the 20-minute mark as Strings, Billy Failing, Royal Masat, and Jarrod Walker put on a clinic of tension and release. Toward the latter half of the jam, those with a keen ear in the crowd could pick up the transition into an E minor scale as the band stealthily set the stage for the Grateful Dead‘s “Wharf Rat”. The tale of August West and burgundy wine saw the bluegrass outfit continue to explore extended improvisation and even heard Strings tease Jimi Hendrix throughout the jam.

The band still had one more trick up their sleeves with an expansive “Highway Hypnosis” that brought the show to a close and stunted the set two-song count at only seven as compared to the twelve-song first set. Upon returning to the stage for the encore, after thanking the crowd and the venue staff for the enjoyable weekend, Strings led the band through a highly relevant “Alabama Bound” by Lead Belly as they set their sights on Mobile.

 

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Setlist: Billy Strings | Historic Columbia Speedway | Cayce, SC | 4/4/21

Set One: Tipper (Tony Rice), Hickory Wind (The Byrds) [1], Katy Daley (The Stanley Brothers), Watch It Fall, Train That Carried My Girl From Town (Doc Watson) > Black Mountain Rag (Doc Watson), Dusty Miller (Dusty Miller) > “Ole Slewfoot” (Johnny Horton), This Old World, Home

Set Two: This Heart of Mine > Dealing Despair, Bluegrass Breakdown (Bill Monroe), All Fall Down (John Hartford) > Wharf Rat (Grateful Dead), Highway Hypnosis

Encore: Alabama Bound (Leady Belly)

[1] FTP