Billy Strings Ends Fall Tour With All-Original Finale In Austin

One night after performing all covers at the more intimate ACL Live at The Moody Theater, Billy Strings put the focus on his own music at the larger Moody Center on Saturday to close out his fall tour and two-night run in Austin.

Billy Strings went the all-original route at the arena featuring his full production. The Grammy-winning guitarist and his band — fiddler Alex Hargreaves, mandolinist Jarrod Walker, banjo player Billy Failing and bassist Royal Masat — loaded the setlist with songs from Strings’ new album, Highway Prayers.

The quintet kicked off the night with a “The Fire On My Tongue” that bled into “Know It All.” Strings and his bandmates then treated fans to a run of five Highway Prayers cuts: “Be Your Man,” “Seven Weeks In County,” “Happy Hollow,” “Seney Stretch” and “My Alice.” The first set rolled on with a sequence connecting “Bronzeback,” “Must Be Seven” and “Hide And Seek” before wrapping the frame with the beloved “Dust In A Baggie.”

Billy Strings chose “California Sober,” the song he recorded with Willie Nelson, to open his last set of the fall. It was then back to Highway Prayers for “Cabin Song.” A nicely extended “Away From The Mire” followed along with fellow Home track “Long Forgotten Dream.” Next came a double dose of Highway Prayers numbers in “Leaning On A Travelin’ Song” and “Don’t Be Calling Me (At 4am).”

The Billy Failing-penned instrumental “Charlie’s Birthday Breakdown” kept the all-original night flowing. Strings then led the group through the pensive “In The Morning Light” and rollicking “In The Clear” ahead of a wild +23-minute “Turmoil And Tinfoil.” A “Red Daisy” punctuated the set. “Gild The Lily” became the 10th Highway Prayers track played as the evening’s encore.

Watch pro-shot video of the beginning of the show via nugs.net:

Check out audience-shot footage from Billy Strings’ fall tour finale below:

Billy Strings will end 2024 with a three-night New Year’s Eve run at New Orleans’ UNO Lakefront Arena. Livestreams are available for free with a nugs.net subscription.

Official Audio (via nugs.net)