Three weeks after releasing the song “California Sober” with Willie Nelson, Billy Strings paid a visit to the Golden State for a three-night run through Southern California. The bluegrass firebrand’s weekend trip included one night at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre followed by a two-night stay at the Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre in San Diego.

Audiences at the Greek Theatre on Friday got their money’s worth as Strings delivered a non-stop, 29-song set. Billy performed the first dozen songs normally with his bandmates Billy Failing (banjo), Jarrod Walker (mandolin), Royal Masat (bass), and Alex Hargreaves (fiddle) before giving his sidemen a reprieve for what would normally serve as set break. While the other musicians took a mid-show breather, however, Billy remained onstage for a solo interlude, running through some bluegrass classics, a couple originals, and even breaking out his clawhammer banjo. After his bandmates returned rested and ready to keep playing, the full ensemble tacked on another 11 songs through the end of the performance.

Friday’s show at the Greek had all the other hallmarks of a classic Billy Strings concert. The opening slot logically went to Billy’s aforementioned collaboration with Willie Nelson, and was followed not long after by another geo-specific cover, Old & In The Way‘s “Lonesome L.A. Cowboy”. Later on, Billy combined two of his favorite onstage activities—huge jams and referencing the place where he’s playing—by amending a 20-minute “Meet Me At The Creek” to “Meet me at the Greek”.

Related: Les Claypool & Billy Strings Are Working On An Album Together, Claypool Says In New Interview [Video]

Traveling down the Pacific Coast, Billy Strings and his bandmates stopped just shy of the Mexican border for a pair of shows in San Diego. The two-night stint at the Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre on the campus of San Diego State University saw the band return to the normal two-set format, with Billy catching his breath with his bandmates between acts.

While there aren’t quite as many songs written about San Diego as there are Los Angeles, Strings still found a way to communicate through his setlist. Midway through the first frame of night one, Strings used the debut of Townes Van Zandt‘s “I’ll Be Here In The Morning” to assure the audience that he’ll be hanging around for a while. In that same set, Billy used a string of continuous covers to highlight his seemingly disparate range of influences by stringing together Mother Love Bone‘s “Crown of Thorns” with Bill Monroe‘s “Southern Flavor” and finally Pink Floyd‘s “Brain Damage”.

Finishing out his California adventure, Billy Strings staged one of his more traditional Sunday shows in San Diego. Once again assuring the crowd that he wasn’t going anywhere just yet, Billy and the band debuted Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys‘ “Stay All Night (Stay a Little Longer)” during the first set which also featured mountain songs from Peter Rowan, Cousin Emmy, and even a song about a train (“Train 45”). The last set of the weekend saw Strings bring things a little more up to speed with nods to modern players like Jeff Austin and Bad Livers with an opening “Run Down” > “Pretty Daughter”.

This was still a Billy Strings show, however, and the jamgrass picker saved one grand fireworks display for last as the second set wound down with an exploratory “Turmoil & Tinfoil”. Bringing the whole run full circle, Strings placed his collaboration with Béla Fleck, “Tentacle Dragon (Revenge of The)”, in the penultimate slot of the show before his own “Knot It All” capped off the weekend and his second consecutive encore-less performance.

Check out videos and audio from Billy Strings’ weekend run through California. His tour continues on Wednesday with an intimate show at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas. Check out his website for tickets and a full list of tour dates. A complete trove of concert videos is available from Todd Norris.

Billy Strings – “California Sober” – 5/19/23

Billy Strings – “Lonesome L.A. Cowboy” (Old & In The Way) – 5/19/23

Billy Strings – “Meet Me At The Creek” – 5/19/23

Billy Strings – “Georgia Buck” (The Hill Billies) – 5/19/23

Billy Strings – “I’ll Be Here In The Morning” (Townes Van Zandt) – 5/20/23

[Video: BG Hatchett]

Billy Strings – “Hide & Seek” – 5/20/23

Billy Strings – “Crown Of Thorns” (Mother Love Bone) > “Southern Flavor” (Bill Monroe) > “Brain Damage” (Pink Floyd) – 5/20/23

Billy Strings – “Wargasm” – 5/20/23

Billy Strings – “Thunder” (Robert Hunter) – 5/20/23

Billy Strings – “On The Line” > “Train 45” (Traditional) > “Ruby” (Cousin Emmy) – 5/21/23

Billy Strings – “Run Down” (Jeff Austin) > “Pretty Daughter” (Bad Livers) – 5/21/23

Billy Strings – “Shady Grove” (Traditional) – 5/21/23

Billy Strings – “Turmoil & Tinfoil” – 5/21/23

View Videos

Billy Strings – Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CA – 5/19/23 – Full Audio

[Audio: BigAlk]

Setlist: Billy Strings | Greek Theatre | Los Angeles, CA | 5/19/23

Set: California Sober, Hello, City Limits (Johnny Elgin, Benny Martin), Hellbender, This Old World, Highway Hypnosis, Lonesome L.A. Cowboy (Old & In The Way), Dusty Miller (Traditional), Fire Line > Running, Ridin’ That Midnight Train (Ralph Stanley), Hyacinth House (The Doors) > Meet Me At The Creek [1], Beaumont Rag (Traditional) [2], Catch and Release [2], Brown’s Ferry Blues (Rabon Delmore, Alton Delmore) [2], Love & Regret [2] Georgia Buck (The Hill Billies) [3], Reuben’s Train (Traditional) [3], How Long Have I Been Waiting On You? (Jonathan Edwards) [4], Freedom [4], Freeborn Man (Keith Allison, Mark Lindsay), Away From The Mire, Long Forgotten Dream, John Deere Tractor (Lawrence Hammond), Ashland Breakdown (Bill Monroe), While I’m Waiting Here > Ole Slewfoot (Johnny Horton), Reverend (Greensky Bluegrass)

Encore: Everything’s The Same

[1] “Meet me at the Greek” lyric change
[2] Billy Strings solo
[3] Billy Strings solo on clawhammer banjo
[4] Full band round a single mic

Setlist: Billy Strings | Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre | San Diego, CA | 5/20/23

Set One: John Hardy (Traditional), Taking Water > Ice Bridges > In The Morning Light, I’ll Be Here In the Morning (Townes Van Zandt) [1], Hide & Seek, Secrets, Crown Of Thorns (Mother Love Bone) > Southern Flavor (Bill Monroe) > Brain Damage (Pink Floyd), Heartbeat Of America, Gone A Long Time

Set Two: Wargasm, Cabin Song, Show Me The Door > Old Man At The Mill (Clarence Ashley) > Clinch Mountain Backstep (Carter Stanley), My Alice, Red Daisy > Thunder (Robert Hunter), Life To Go (George Jones), Dust In A Baggie

[1] FTP

Setlist: Billy Strings | Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre | San Diego, CA | 5/21/23

Set One: Pyramid Country > Airmail Special (Ossie Godson, Leon Rusk), Home, Blue Mule (Peter Rowan), Thirst Mutilator > So Many Miles > Stay All Night (Stay a Little Longer) (Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys) [1], Hellbender, West Dakota Rose (Chris Henry), While I’m Waiting Here, On The Line > Train 45 (Traditional) > Ruby (Cousin Emmy)

Set Two: Run Down (Jeff Austin) > Pretty Daughter (Bad Livers), Standing In The Need Of Prayer (Traditional), Dig A Little Deeper In The Well (The Oak Ridge Boys), Shady Grove (Traditional), Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down (Traditional), Turmoil & Tinfoil, Tentacle Dragon (Revenge Of The) (Béla Fleck) > Know It All

[1] FTP