Billy Strings Brings Out ‘Hero’ David Grisman In Washington

Billy Strings brought out David Grisman for the final six songs of the first set on Saturday at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Washington, the second night of a two-night stand. During the six-song collaboration, Strings revealed that he and Grisman recently spent about a week and a half recording together, and the pair gave the world premiere of “Billy Of The Strings,” an instrumental Grisman wrote for the guitarist.

A few songs into the first set saw Strings deliver an extended “Thunder,” which features lyrics by Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter. Grisman (“Dawg”), a close associate of the Grateful Dead and guitarist Jerry Garcia, was brought out following Strings’ flattering introduction. While a single microphone was placed at the center of the stage, Strings spoke to the audience, stating:

“We’re gonna play these instruments, we’re gonna see if we can… unelectrified, and acoustic-ificize this thing a little bit. We might need a little bit of cooperation. It might be harder to hear these because we can’t get them as loud, but they’ll probably sound better because they sound like wood.

“We wanna do something pretty great. I wanna invite a very dear friend of mine up here. He’s a fellow that has paved the way for us young cats coming up, an absolute legend and one of our heroes. I can’t say enough about him. He’s a very, very kind gentleman and the best mandolin player to ever walk the earth. Please welcome David Grisman!”

Strings, banjoist Billy Failing, fiddler Alex Hargreaves, bassist Royal Masat and mandolinist Jarrod Walker went “unplugged” for the duration of Grisman’s guest spot, maneuvering around the lone microphone.

Grisman played mandolin on his signature original instrumental, “Dawg’s Waltz,” and the traditional “Shady Grove.” Before “Slinky,” Strings told the crowd he had visited Grisman a couple of weeks earlier and that the two spent about a week and a half recording a “bunch of tunes” together.

“It was one of the great honors of my entire life,” Strings said. “Me too,” Grisman said.

Strings said Grisman wrote “Slinky” while he was visiting and taught him the tune, which he then brought back to the band. Grisman stayed on for “I Told Them All About You” and addressed the crowd before “Billy Of The Strings”:

“My friends, I can’t tell you how much this means to me. This guy, I’ve known quite a bunch of famous people, but he’s got more talent than any of them. And he respects where it all came from. In fact, he loves where it all came from, and I’m so grateful to him for spreading this gospel that we both love.

“I mean, there’s all kinds of music in the world, and great music in fact. And the more that all you folks that fill this kind of place can know about that stuff, maybe you’ll go find a Doc Watson record, or The Stanley Brothers, or Mozart or Benny Goodman.”

Grisman said he writes instrumentals and likes to dedicate them to various people, and that he wrote “Billy Of The Strings” for Strings when the two decided to record together. He said he was honored to give the tune its world premiere with Strings and his bandmates. “Pigeon Roost” then closed the set.

Strings considers Grisman a mentor and friend. He joined the “Dawg At 80!” concert celebrating Grisman’s 80th birthday at Seattle’s Moore Theatre in March 2025 and days later shared a note of gratitude about the experience.

Billy Strings’ Fall Tour 2026 continues October 20 at Tivoli Theatre in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Stream official audio and a livestream replay of the show via nugs. Watch Max Berde’s video of the collaboration below:

Setlist (via BillyBase)

Set One: I Like Train Songs [1], Seven Weeks In County [2], Live To Tell, Seney Stretch, Remember To Cry, Thunder [3], Dawg’s Waltz [4][5][6], Shady Grove [4][5][7], Slinky [4][5][6], I Told Them All About You [4][5], Billy Of The Strings [4][5][6], Pigeon Roost [4][5][6]

Set Two: Taking Water, The Lonesome River, In The Clear, The Cuckoo > Long Forgotten Dream, Just A Rambler, Mill Town Flood, Malfunction Junction > Bringing In The Georgia Mail [8], 10,000 Miles From A Friend, Turmoil & Tinfoil, Tennessee

Footnotes:

• [1] The crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to Billy Failing.
• [2] Includes a “The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly” (Ennio Morricone) tease.
• [3] Includes a “Third Stone From The Sun” (Jimi Hendrix) tease.
• [4] With David Grisman on mandolin.
• [5] Full band at front, center stage.
• [6] First time played; David Grisman composition.
• [7] Last time played February 13, 2026 (42-show gap).
• [8] Last time played February 6, 2026 (46-show gap).