Billy Strings Summer Tour Picks Up Steam With Saturday Night Heater In Bridgeport, CT [Photos/Videos]

Billy Strings closed out his two-night run at the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater in Bridgeport, CT last night with a display of overwhelming talent and musical leadership.

A pre-recorded train intro got things rolling, setting the scene for the opening “The Train That Took My Girl Away”, which gave everyone in the band—including Jarrod Walker on mandolin, Billy Failing on banjo, fiddler Alex Hargreaves, and bassist Royal Masat, not to mention guitar firebrand and bandleader Billy Strings himself—a chance to greet the crowd. After some high-speed picking got them collectively warmed up, it was time to explore the more psychedelic side of their sound with a tasty “Away From The Mire” that pushed toward musical frontiers far beyond the traditional boundaries of bluegrass.

Strings paid tribute to his jamgrass forefathers with “New Country Blues”, the title track from Drew Emmitt (Leftover Salmon) and Bill Nershi‘s (The String Cheese Incident) Emmitt-Nershi Band album, which showcased Billy Failing. Afterwards, the bandleader took the opportunity to chat with the crowd, giving his first thanks of the evening, this one directed at his fans. He then rallied the band for a dive into their own catalog.

“In The Clear” was its usual cleanly picked self, while “My Alice” added a bit of murder ballad malice. The psychedelic break at the heart of “Highway Hypnosis” seemingly shattered reality as it spun out beyond our earthly plane.

For the subsequent “Catch And Release”, Strings dismissed the rest of the band while he grabbed a chair and an acoustic guitar for a seated, solo number. The comedic story of fishing with Leftover Salmon’s Vince Herman always brings a grin. Since Strings was already in storytelling mode, he grabbed up his banjo and stroked and rolled his way through “Country Blues”.

Walker and his trusty mandolin nearly stole the show with his emotive work on Chris Henry’s “West Dakota Rose” once the band returned in full force. “Dust In A Baggie” was nice and filled with boot scootin’ energy that got the crowd up and moving. Since the fans were in a dancing mood, Billy took them waltzing with “Love And Regret”. The tune brought out the best in Hargreaves’ fiddling while the crowd’s participation provoked delight onstage and off-.

John Hartford’s swirling “With A Vamp In The Middle” gave Hargreaves another chance to step into the spotlight, though the rest of the band was more than ready to stretch out as well. The set ended with a robust “Everything’s The Same” that unfolded like a game of musical tag.

Opening the second set were back to back originals, “Hollow Heart” and “Be Your Man”, each brimming with raw human emotion and instrumental firepower. Billy introduced the “desperate little bitch” “John Hardy” and subsequently sent him packing before “This Old World”,“The Cuckoo”, and “Long Forgotten Dream” took the show’s vibe in a deeply introspective direction. The trio of tunes formed an emotional heart to the set that was capped with an old-timey single-mic “Richard Petty”.

Fully in their traditional mode, the group took the opportunity to pick on “Sally Goodin” before once again looking within with a stark and sober “Know It All”. “Escanaba” let  Royal Masat get funkier than he had, and Failing clearly relished having a go at the front of the mix. As if realizing that it was getting close to that time, Strings, seeming to think out loud, noted it was a good chance to hear how pretty the boys in the band could sound when they blended their voices, using the call and response sections of The Stanley Brothers classic “Harbor Of Love” to unleash the vocal talents of his crew.

The hour was getting late, but there was still time for a couple more tunes: “Windows” from progressive bluegrass legend John Hartford’s beloved catalog, and “Seven Weeks In County”, followed by a riotous ovation in appreciation of two fantastic nights.

The level of cheering grew until Billy returned to the stage for an encore. “Thank you so f–ckin’ much everybody! I appreciate the hell out of each and every one of ya,” Strings told the crowd. After looking back and forth at those onstage with him, there was a mix of pride, appreciation, and love in his eyes as he simply said, “Thank you fellas.”

“It’s really just the ultimate joy of my entire life to be up here playing music for you folks tonight,” Strings continued, reiterating his appreciation. With only the time for a zippy cover of Jimmy Martin‘s “Sophronie”, the night, after a few final well wishes, was done.

Billy Strings’ last words to the fans: “We already can’t wait to be back here”.

Below, view the full setlist from Billy Strings at Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater in Bridgeport, CT. For a full list of upcoming dates, head here.

Fans can follow along with the Billy Strings 2024 summer tour from home with livestreams of every show via nugs.net, available free of charge for subscribers. [Editor’s Note: Live For Live Music is a nugs affiliate. Ordering your nugs subscription via the links on this page helps support our coverage of the world of live music. Thank you for reading!].

Billy Strings – “The Train That Carried My Girl From Town”, “Black Mountain Rag” (Leslie Keith), “Away From The Mire” – 7/27/24

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Billy Strings – “John Hardy” (Bill Monroe) – 7/27/24

[Video: Matt Frazier]

Billy Strings – “Escanaba” – 7/27/24

[Video: Matt Frazier]

Billy Strings – “Windows” (John Hartford) – 7/27/24

[Video: Matt Frazier]

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Setlist: Billy Strings | Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater | Bridgeport, CT | 7/27/24

Set 1: Train Intro, The Train That Carried My Girl From Town (Traditional), Black Mountain Rag (Leslie Keith), Away From The Mire, New Country Blues (Drew Emmitt & Bill Nershi) In The Clear, Highway Hypnosis, Catch And Release (Billy Solo), Country Blues (Dock Boggs), West Dakota Rose (Chris Henry), Dust In A Baggie, Love and Regret, With A Vamp In The Middle (John Hartford)  > Everythings The Same

Set 2: Hollow Heart, Be Your Man, John Hardy (Traditional), This Old World, The Cuckoo (Traditional), Long Forgotten Dream, Richard Petty (Single Mic Acapella), Sally Goodin (Traditional),  Know It All, Escanaba, Harbor of Love (The Stanley Brothers), Windows (John Hartford), Seven Weeks In County

Encore: Sophronie (Jimmy Martin)