Billy Strings Walks Among The Crowd During Wild Night Two In Pennsylvania [Photos/Videos]

Billy Strings and his band returned to Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday, fresh off delivering a jubilant Friday opener at the State College, Pennsylvania arena.

After celebrating the announcement of his new album, Highway Prayers, and debuting the release’s first single on Friday, Strings was rested and ready to rival, maybe even surpass the previous night’s admittedly high bar.

The opening instrumental “Bronzeback” was a fitting selection to start off the show, allowing each player to step out and solo while also getting in some reps for the band as a whole. Alex Hargreaves‘ fiddle work shined early, as sweet and melodic as any could muster. As soon as the instrumental warmup was complete, it was time to get their voices in harmony. A visit with the sorrowful “Know It All” was a fine choice for the task at hand. By the end of the piece, Strings and his outfit were firing on all cylinders, primed and ready to be turned loose.

The pace picked up on “Watch It Fall” before Billy disrupted the set’s melancholy vibe by calling out to his team with his easy grin, “How ‘bout we pick us some bluegrass?” With that, the Bryce Jordan Center came alive to the sounds of Jimmie Skinner’s “Doin My Time”, which showcased Jarrod Walker’s mandolin picking prowess.

“Heartbeat Of America” came next and gave bassist Royal Masat occasion to show off his deep, funky pocket. As impressive as his bandmates may be, their fierce solos would fall flat without his low-end support.

Walker set a sorrowful tone for The Stanley Brothers’ “The Lonesome River”, while the banjo work by Billy Failing on his own tune, “Charlie’s Birthday Breakdown”, was borderline show-stealing. “Show Me The Door” displayed Strings’ moving vocals while revealing the romantic at his core. Despite the superhuman dexterity of his fingers, he wears his heart so squarely on his sleeve that it’s hard not to relate to the guy on a human level.

Hargreaves took the lead for the fiddler’s delight “Northern White Clouds” before Billy once again staked out a heartfelt and earnest vocal delivery for a testimonial to undying affection, “Love Like Me”. From there, it was nearing time for the first set to conclude, but Strings wasn’t about to hit the midpoint without pulling out all the stops one more time during “Highway Hypnosis”.

Strings started the second set solo, coming out with four acoustic tunes. After dashing through a pair of traditional tunes, “Give The Fiddler A Dram” and “Ragtime Annie”, Strings squeezed in smidge of Kerry Mills’ “Whistling Rufus” telling the tale of his fateful fishing trip with Leftover Salmon’s Vince Herman, “Catch and Release”. Calling out to Billy Failing to join him, Strings switched from acoustic guitar to his trusty banjo and smiled as Failing checked in, ready for duty. “I’ve got a banjo to pick with you,” Strings joked before the pair enjoyed the give and take of “Dos Banjos”.

When the rest of the players returned, it was time to get into the second set in earnest. As Strings toasted the crowd, he gave thanks and strapped on his ax with a little comic patter. All settled in, Strings and Co. found themselves “In The Clear” before sharing the traditional wisdom of “Let The Cocaine Be”.

Continuing to build momentum, the band flowed straight into a forward-looking, harmonious “Must Be Seven” before getting dark and disturbed with their charming but chilling take on Eddie Noack’s “Psycho”. Ending the sonic spree with a spirited game of “Hide And Seek”, Billy, clearly feeling it, went for a short stroll along the stage lip before returning to his pedal board to properly lay on the effects as he led his band in a cosmic game of “follow the leader.” While out in the ether, they incorporated a nod to their home planet with a tease of Jimi Hendrix’s “Third Stone From The Sun”.

Finally touching down back in our dimension after that deadly trio of tunes, Strings launched another three-song jab with a solid take on Widespread Panic’s “All Time Low”. Failing took the mic to deliver the vocals on his own song “So Many Miles” before his brother Billy closed out the second three-song sequence with an emotive “Hollow Heart”. Running out of time but apparently not energy, the band then launched into what would be the final extended jaunt with Jackson Browne’s “Running On Empty”.

To close out the night, Strings went dipping back deeply into the classic bluegrass songbook with Bill Monroe’s sweet “Southern Flavor” and the second Stanley Brothers’ tune of the evening, “Love Me Darlin’, Just Tonight”, before preparing to leave the station at long last with the traditional “Train 45”. In a final gesture of appreciation and showmanship, Strings took the “Train” jam into the crowd itself, climbing to the railing from the photo pit and engaging fans in a display of enthusiasm that had the crowd roaring. He cleared the barricade and went three or four rows deep into the audience, who parted for the legend-in-the-making before encircling the fiery fretboard pyro.

Striking guitar hero poses with fans while somehow still nailing his leads, Strings was all smiles as he picked his way through what would be the final tune of the night. With no way to top that, he had no time for encores or even extended goodbyes. Simply gesturing, arms wide in appreciation at the still stage-bound band for their hard work after returning to the safety of the pit, Strings then tipped his hat to them and called for them to gather down to the stage lip for a well earned bow.

Billy Strings’ summer tour continues in California after a stop at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, WA for Willie Nelson‘s Outlaw Music Fest. Find tickets and a full list of tour dates on his website. If you can’t make it in person, tune in for a livestream on nugs, free to all subscribers. [Editor’s Note: Live For Live Music is a nugs affiliate. Ordering your nugs subscription or purchasing a download via the links on this page helps support our coverage of the world of live music. Thank you for reading!]

Strings also just announced the upcoming release of his first new album in two years, Highway Prayers, and announced a New Year’s run at UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, with tickets on sale August 16th. Click here for more details.

Billy Strings – “Bronzeback”, “Know It All”, “Watch It Fall” – 8/3/24

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Billy Strings – “Love Like Me” – 8/3/24

[Video: John Goldberg]

Billy Strings – “Catch And Release” – 8/3/24

[Video: Daniel Marino]

Billy Strings – “Running On Empty” (Jackson Browne) – 8/3/24

[Video: crg144]

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Setlist: Billy Strings | Bryce Jordan Center | State College, PA | 8/3/24

Set One: Bronzeback, Know It All, Watch It Fall, Doin’ My Time (Jimmie Skinner), Heartbeat Of America, The Lonesome River (The Stanley Brothers), Charlie’s Birthday Breakdown, Show Me The Door, Northern White Clouds (Bill Monroe), Love Like Me, Highway Hypnosis
Set Two: Give The Fiddler A Dram (Traditional) [1], Whistling Rufus (Kerry Mills) [1], Ragtime Annie (Traditional) [1], Catch and Release, Dos Banjos [2], In the Clear, Let The Cocaine Be (Traditional) [3] [4] > Must Be Seven > Psycho (Eddie Noack) > Hide and Seek [5], All Time Low (Widespread Panic) [6] > So Many Miles [7] > Hollow Heart, Running On Empty (Jackson Browne) > Southern Flavor (Bill Monroe) [8] > Love Me Darlin’, Just Tonight (The Stanley Brothers), Train 45 (Traditional)

[1] Billy Strings solo front of stage
[2] Dos Billys on Dos Banjos
[3] Last Time Played 2023-03-07 | 121 shows
[4] Billy shouts, “Here’s how Terry Barber did it,” before ripping into a solo he’s heard since his childhood
[5] “Third Stone From the Sun” (Jimi Hendrix) tease
[6] “In the Morning Light” fakeout intro
[7] Billy Failing on lead vocals
[8] “Oh, Pretty Woman” (Roy Orbison) tease