Billy Strings Welcomes Bob Weir At The Ryman

Grateful Dead/Dead & Company guitarist Bob Weir was Billy Strings‘ special guest on Saturday at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Weir and Strings started the evening’s second set with a pair of duets before the rest of Billy’s band came out for the rest of a set and encore filled with Grateful Dead classics.

Last night’s Billy Strings show was the guitarist’s second of three sold-out concerts at the historic Nashville venue. Bryan Sutton was Billy's guest on Friday to help open the run. Strings previously sat-in with Bob Weir & Wolf Bros at Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley, California back on February 28.

Billy and Bobby went acoustic for The Everly Brothers’ “Wake Up Little Susie” to get last night’s second set underway. Weir then swapped his acoustic for an electric to accompany Strings on a duo performance of the Hunter/Garcia classic “Dire Wolf.” Next, Strings’ bandmates — bassist Royal Masat, banjoist Billy Failing and mandolinist Jarrod Walker — took their normal positions in backing Billy and Bobby on Weir’s “Cassidy.”

The collaborative set continued with a gorgeous “China Doll” sung by Strings and rousing “Help On The Way”/”Slipknot!”/”Franklin’s Tower” trifecta that spanned over 20 minutes. Weir handled lead vocals for “Help On The Way” and “Franklin’s Tower.” The ensuing “Wharf Rat” saw Bobby and Billy trade off verses before Weir belted out “Bird Song.” Bobby moved back to acoustic during “Bird Song” but went electric once more for a beautiful “To Lay Me Down” sung by Strings.

Billy Strings and Bob Weir chose the geographically-appropriate “Tennessee Jed” to end last night’s second set. “I mean, what a band,” Bobby exclaimed after Billy introduced him. Weir was on hand once again as he joined Strings and his band for the evening’s “Brokedown Palace” encore. “It sure was fun to play a bunch of Dead music with you, Bobby. We’ve never done a whole Dead set before,” Strings noted ahead of the “Brokedown Palace” encore to which Weir added, “I have!”

Last night’s first set went heavy on originals as Strings and his bandmates fit in “Fire On My Tongue,” “Fire Line,” “In The Morning Light” and “Know It All” from their Grammy-nominated 2021 album Renewal within an 11-song frame. The quartet also played fan-favorites “Must Be Seven,” “Thirst Mutilator,” “Dust In A Baggie” and “Meet Me At The Creek” along with three covers. Billy Strings concludes the Ryman run tonight. A livestream is available for nugs.net subscribers.

Watch pro-shot video from the start of the show followed by fan-shot video footage featuring collaborations with Bob Weir below:

Setlist (via BillyBase)

Set One: The Fire On My Tongue > Must Be Seven > Likes Of Me, A Good Woman’s Love, Thirst Mutilator > Dust In A Baggie, Fire Line > Reuben’s Train, In The Morning Light, Know It All, Meet Me At The Creek

Set Two: Wake Up Little Susie, [1, 2] Dire Wolf, [3] Cassidy, [4] China Doll, [4] Help On The Way > [4] Slipknot! [4] > Franklin’s Tower, [4] Wharf Rat, [4] Bird Song, [4, 5] To Lay Me Down, [4] Tennessee Jed [4]

Encore: Brokedown Palace [4]

• [1] – Bob Weir and Billy Strings duo, both on acoustic guitar
• [2] – BS, BW vocals
• [3] – Bob Weir and Billy Strings duo, Bob Weir on electric guitar
• [4] – With Bob Weir on electric guitar
• [5] – Bob Weir switched to acoustic guitar mid-jam