Billy Strings Welcomes Bill Nershi At Mission Ballroom

Billy Strings brought out The String Cheese Incident guitarist Bill Nershi for an extensive sit-in last night at Denver’s Mission Ballroom. The concert featured several live cover debuts, including Strings’ first performance of the Jerry Garcia/Grateful Dead song “Mission In The Rain.”

Nershi emerged during the second set of Saturday’s concert and added acoustic guitar and vocals to SCI’s “Restless Wind,” which Strings had not previously played. Nershi remained on stage for “Purple Strains (Earl’s Song),” an Onus B. Johnson song Nershi has covered a few times with SCI, but had not been played before by Strings. The guest spot concluded with Nershi joining in on “Black Clouds,” a String Cheese Incident song Strings frequently covers.

After Nershi’s exit, Strings delivered another cover debut, treating the Mission Ballroom attendees to his first public performance of “Mission In The Rain.” The Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter song appeared on Garcia’s third solo album, 1976’s Reflections, and while only played five times that year by the Dead, was a staple of Jerry Garcia Band setlists. Strings ended the set with “All Fall Down” and encored with “Y’all Come.”

Last night’s first set also featured Strings debuting a cover of “If You Ever Change Your Mind,” which was written by Bill Anderson. Strings wraps his four-night run at the Mission Ballroom tonight.

Watch audience-shot video of “Restless Wind”:

Listen to a recording of the full show taped by Rob O’Brien below:

Setlist

Set One: Fire Line > Running the Route, Hellbender, Psycho, Ernest T. Grass > How Mountain Girls Can Love, In Case You Ever Change Your Mind [1], Bronzeback, Home, Midnight on the Highway, Everything’s the Same, Bluegrass Breakdown

Set Two: Pyramid Country > Little Maggie, Leaders, Know It All, Restless Wind [2][3], Purple Strains (Earl’s Song) [2][4], Black Clouds [2], Mission in the Rain [5], All Fall Down

Encore: Y’all Come

Notes:

• [1] debut, Bill Anderson
• [2] with Bill Nershi
• [3] debut, The String Cheese Incident
• [4] debut, Onus B. Johnson
• [5] debut, Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter