Watch Billy Strings Debut Contemplative New Song ‘Be Your Man’ In Cleveland

Billy Strings wrapped a two-show run at Jacob’s Pavilion at Nautica in Cleveland on Wednesday night. The encore began with the guitarist going solo for a debut performance of a new song called “Be Your Man.”

Wednesday’s first set saw banjoist Billy Failing singing lead on his tune “So Many Miles.” The opening set also included a pair of rarely played covers, Larry Sparks’ “A Face In The Crowd” which was dedicated to Strings’ parents (his mother was in the audience) and the instrumental popularized by Flatt & Scruggs, “Farewell Blues.” The first half came to a close with Strings singing an unaccompanied arrangement of the haunting hymn, “And Am I Born To Die?”

Strings and his bandmates – Failing, bassist Royal Masat, mandolinist Jarrod Walker and fiddler Alex Hargreaves – began the second set with a cover of The Oak Ridge Boys’ “Dig a Little Deeper In The Well.” A string of originals followed, including Strings’ recent collaboration with Willie Nelson, “California Sober.” The second set ended with “Thunder,” a song arranged by Strings and featuring lyrics written by late Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter.

The aforementioned encore saw Strings sitting on a stool for the premiere public offering of “Be Your Man.” The contemplative new original was followed by Strings and his bandmates gathering around a single microphone for the traditional “If Your Hair’s Too Long (There’s Sin in Your Heart).” The crowd cheered when Strings and his cohorts delivered the final verse of “If Your Hair’s Too Long” which ends with the line, “You’ll live a life of fear and dread if you listen to the Grateful Dead.”

Billy Strings performs again tomorrow in his home state of Michigan. Sign up for a free seven-day nugs.net trial to livestream the Pine Knob show and more.

Watch audience-captured video of Billy Strings debuting “Be You Man,” plus pro-shot video of the start of the first set from last night’s show in Cleveland below:

Setlist (via BillyBase)

Set One: Sally Goodin, Know It All, Thirst Mutilator > So Many Miles [1] > Dealing Despair, Doin’ Things Right, Enough To Leave, Hollow Heart, Walk On Boy, A Face In The Crowd [2], Farewell Blues, Wargasm, Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down, And Am I Born To Die? [3]

Set Two: Dig A Little Deeper In The Well > Cabin Song, Nothing’s Working, Slow Train, Turmoil & Tinfoil, My Alice, On The Line > Train 45, California Sober, The Preacher & The Bear, Hello, City Limits, Hold That Woodpile Down, Thunder

Encore: Be Your Man [4][5], If Your Hair Is Too Long, There’s Sin In Your Heart [6]

Notes:

• [1] Billy Failing on lead vocals
• [2] Billy dedicated this song to his parents, Deb Apostol and Terry Barber. His mom Deb was in the crowd.
• [3] Billy Strings acapella
• [4] Billy Strings solo
• [5] FTP- new original
• [6] Band around single mic