Billy Strings

[Arapaho G]

Yes I know he's been discussed here at length before, but I saw him again last night at Fiddlers Green in Denver. He and the band get better every time I see them. They are spreading out their sound to include jazz, folk, rock, on top of bluegrass. They covered Willy Nelson, The Beatles, Doc Watson, Pink Floyd. Without a doubt, the best flat picker I'VE ever seen.

[Godfather]

Agreed! He is an incredible picker.
A kind individual.
Very generous and humble.

[bfm612]

He was just on Marc Maron's podcast and he says that Jon Brion (!) is producing his next record. I admire Strings's playing especially on traditional bluegrass tunes, but haven't glommed on too much to his more jamband work, but hearing Brion's name in the mix definitely has me interested!

[broy]

Sounds like an incredible show. I'd jump at the chance to ever see him live with his band, but what I'd really like to see is just Billy Strings and / or one other person. That would be my ideal show.

[nuchdig]

Originally Posted by broy

Sounds like an incredible show. I'd jump at the chance to ever see him live with his band, but what I'd really like to see is just Billy Strings and / or one other person. That would be my ideal show.

Would dig a duo tour w Don Julin on mando

[Dogma]

Originally Posted by broy

Sounds like an incredible show. I'd jump at the chance to ever see him live with his band, but what I'd really like to see is just Billy Strings and / or one other person. That would be my ideal show.

If you go to the Telluride BG Festival you can hear him with Chris Thile! And, you've probably already heard the YouTube clips of them together in NYC earlier this year? There's also a great full set of Billy and Bryan Sutton at the Station Inn from a couple of years ago. All good stuff and/but I really like his band. Such high-level musicianship. I think he's growing a lot as a result of experience, of course, but also as a result of the band.

[Arapaho G]

Originally Posted by broy

Sounds like an incredible show. I'd jump at the chance to ever see him live with his band, but what I'd really like to see is just Billy Strings and / or one other person. That would be my ideal show.

He played I believe 3 songs solo without the band so even more reason for you to go see them.

[SpruceTop]

I second a Billy Strings and Don Julin tour. It would be nice to hear Billy return to a more rootsy sound as he had with Don in the early days sans the light show and electronic guitar effects.

[fitness1]

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

I second a Billy Strings and Don Julin tour. It would be nice to hear Billy return to a more rootsy sound as he had with Don in the early days sans the light show and electronic guitar effects.

Yes - I'd go in a heartbeat.

I saw him about 18 months ago in a 5k seat hockey arena and it was one of the loudest shows I've ever seen. I had to leave about 2/3 of the way through as I felt like my organs were being rearranged!

Super talented player and from all accounts a great human being, but I've become intolerant of the volume and the flash.

[SCVJ]

Originally Posted by Dogma

If you go to the Telluride BG Festival you can hear him with Chris Thile! And, you've probably already heard the YouTube clips of them together in NYC earlier this year? There's also a great full set of Billy and Bryan Sutton at the Station Inn from a couple of years ago. All good stuff and/but I really like his band. Such high-level musicianship. I think he's growing a lot as a result of experience, of course, but also as a result of the band.

I've been a regular at the Telluride festival since 1987. The local radio station, KOTO, has broadcast and streamed almost the entire festival for years. I assume they will this year as well.

Chris Thile has been the festival opening act at noon, IIRC, on the 1st day for several years, usually solo. This year Billy Strings will join him. Chris plays again during the festival, but the opening slot with Chris is Billy's only appearance at this year's festival. The date is Thursday, June 20th. The website shows that they are the opening act, but they haven't yet published the performance times.

Chris Thile on mandolin is an equivalent of Billy Strings, and I don't expect that they will perform together regularly, so this might be a very interesting set.

If you want to hear this, go to bluegrass.com (the TBF website) to confirm the time (once they publish it), and google KOTO for info on how to listen over the internet. Take a look at the rest of the schedule, there are some great acts this year - Tommy Emmanuel with Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Bryan Sutton, Molly Tuttle, Lyle Lovett, Sierra Ferrell.

On a similar note, the same people put on RockyGrass in late July. It is also streamed on a local station, KGNU. The dates this year are July 26-28. This lineup is more traditional, although with plenty of progressive elements.

It seems that many festivals and concerts are streamed, and there are sources for high quality recordings of many acts. The recordings made at festivals are free, AFAIK, since they are made with permission, but not including the right to monetize them. I don't know where to find these, but google and/or someone on this forum probably do.

I plan to access recordings from the Telluride festival this year since I can't go and will be unavailable to stream it. I'll be researching a source for recordings soon. Send me a PM if you'd like to have this information.

[Mandobart]

Originally Posted by broy

Sounds like an incredible show. I'd jump at the chance to ever see him live with his band, but what I'd really like to see is just Billy Strings and / or one other person. That would be my ideal show.

Originally Posted by nuchdig

Would dig a duo tour w Don Julin on mando

That’s exactly how I first saw Billy Strings - playing with Don Julin at Wintergrass several years ago.

Going to see him as part of Willie Nelson’s Outlaws tour in August at the Gorge. With Bob Dylan and John Cougar Mellencamp and others.

[Skarsaune]

Originally Posted by bfm612

He was just on Marc Maron's podcast and he says that Jon Brion (!) is producing his next record. I admire Strings's playing especially on traditional bluegrass tunes, but haven't glommed on too much to his more jamband work, but hearing Brion's name in the mix definitely has me interested!

I had never heard of Jon Brion prior to your mention - after googling, his work with Aimee Mann is all I think I'm familiar with.

Tell me about him - what will he bring to an album with Billy? Genuinely curious.