Billy Strings Dusts Off ‘Here Comes The Sun’ Cover In Asheville

Billy Strings had a setlist surprise in store for fans attending his concert Saturday night at the ExploreAsheville.com Arena in Asheville, North Carolina. The second set saw the guitarist perform The Beatles’ “Here Comes The Sun” for the first time in just shy of five years.

Saturday’s Beatles cover was not the only bust out Strings dialed up on Saturday in Asheville. The encore began with his third attempt at “Footprints In The Snow,” which was last played by Strings exactly five years prior, on February 8, 2020. The gap between performances of the bluegrass standard spanned 412 shows.

Before Saturday, “Here Comes The Sun” had not been performed by Strings since a February 28, 2020 show with his father, Terry Barber. The nearly five-year gap between appearances of George Harrison’s contribution to The Beatles’ 1969 album Abbey Road spanned 406 shows. Strings hadn’t covered the song with his band since a debut performance on November 19, 2019.

There was also a late-second set bust out of Bob Dylan’s “Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power),” which had been absent from Strings’ setlists since 2023.

The end of the first set saw Strings, banjoist Billy Failing, bassist Royal Masat, mandolinist Jarrod Walker and fiddler Alex Hargreaves, gathered around a single microphone for a segment made up of “Freedom,” “Katy Daley,” “Harbor of Love” and “My Sweet Blue Eyed Darling.”

The second set began with “Leadfoot” performed with Strings on baritone banjo and Failing on guitar.

Watch audience-captured video of “Here Comes The Sun” and “Footprints In The Snow” and stream the entire concert via nugs.net official soundboard audio below.

Setlist (via BillyBase)

Set One: Leaning on a Travelin’ Song, Tipper, There Is A Time, Seney Stretch, Cold Cold World, Nobody’s Love Is Like Mine [1][2], Fire Line, Reuben’s Train, Freedom [3], Katy Daley [3], Harbor of Love [3], My Sweet Blue Eyed Darling [3]

Set Two: Leadfoot [4], Freeborn Man, Ready For The Times To Get Better [5], California Sober > Run Down, It Ain’t Before, Here Comes The Sun [6], These Old Blues, Leaders, Lumpy, Beanpole, & Dirt, Wargasm, Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power) [7] > Pretty Daughter

Encore: Footprints In The Snow [8], Roll On Buddy, Roll On

Notes:

• [1] Jarrod Walker on lead vocals
• [2] Last Time Played 2024-04-12 | 54 Shows
• [3] Band around single mic (w/ instruments), front of stage
• [4] Billy on his Masterton ML-1: Missing Link Béla Fleck baritone banjo & Billy Failing on guitar
• [5] Last Time Played 2024-02-24 | 58 Shows
• [6] Last Time Played 2020-02-28 | 406 Shows
• [7] Last Time Played 2023-12-13 | 68 Shows
• [8] Last Time Played 2020-02-08 | 412 Shows