Billy Strings Puts Rollicking ‘Freight Train Boogie’ Cover On The Rails In Philadelphia

Billy Strings wrapped up a two-night run at The Met in Philadelphia on Sunday. Billy added yet another train song to his repertoire, The Delmore Brothers’ “Freight Train Boogie,” to close the first set.

Strings and his band — mandolinist Jarrod Walker, bassist Royal Masat, banjoist Billy Failing and fiddler Alex Hargreaves — kicked off the concert with a substantial pairing of original “The Fire On My Tongue” and The String Cheese Incident’s “Black Clouds,” together clocking in at around 16 minutes. The first set also saw the band performing the Jeff Austin co-write “Fiddling Around” ahead of the favorite “Dust In A Baggie.”

Strings and company closed out the first set with the debut of “Freight Train Boogie.” A song referencing the immortal engineer Casey Jones, Rabon and Alton Delmore penned “Freight Train Boogie” and released the song in 1946. Doc and Merle Watson offered a rendition in 1972 and Willie Nelson released the song in 2010. Billy’s version got a good chug-a-lug going with Hargreaves adding some nice train whistle touches on the fiddle.

Watch Billy Strings unveil “Freight Train Boogie” below:

The upbeat original “On The Line” kicked off the second set and led into another train tune, Billy’s instrumental version of the traditional “Train 45.” A pairing of The Dillards’ “Ernest T. Grass” and The Stanley Brothers’ “How Moutain Girls Can Love” followed. Strings then embarked on a three-song seamless sequence beginning with “Fire Line” and heading through “Thirst Mutilator” and “Hollow Heart.” A mix of more traditionals and originals comprised the rest of the second set, which closed out with a rowdy 11-minute “Turmoil & Tinfoil” before returning to encore with Don Reno’s “I’m Gone, Long Gone.”

Listen to full-show audio below via Rich Stoler:

Setlist (via BillyBase)

Set 1: The Fire On My Tongue > Black Clouds, Way Downtown, End Of The Rainbow, While I’m Waiting Here, Shenandoah Breakdown, Heartbeat Of America, Fiddling Around, Dust In A Baggie, Freight Train Boogie[1]

Set 2: On The Line > Train 45, Ernest T. Grass > How Mountain Girls Can Love, Fire Line > Thirst Mutilator > Hollow Heart, Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor, Streamline Cannonball, Love & Regret, I’ll Remember You Love In My Prayers, Bronzeback, Look Up Look Down That Lonesome Road, Turmoil & Tinfoil

Encore: I’m Gone, Long Gone

Notes:

1. FTP- Delmore Brothers