Watch Billy Strings Honor Gordon Lightfoot & Play Willie Nelson Collab On Rainy Night At Red Rocks

Billy Strings opened a sold-out, two-show run at Colorado’s famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre on a rainy night in Morrison on Thursday. Strings kicked off the festivities with a tribute to the late Gordon Lightfoot and unveiled his band’s debut performance of “California Sober,” a song written with Willie Nelson, during last night’s second set.

Renowned Canadian folk musician Gordon Lightfoot died on Monday, May 1 at age 84. Billy Strings began his second annual headlining run at Red Rocks by covering Lightfoot’s “Cold On The Shoulder.” Gordon Lightfoot released the original in 1975 as the title track for his 10th studio album. Strings premiered his rendition on February 15, 2020 and before Thursday’s concert had last covered “Cold On The Shoulder” on November 18, 2022 in Washington D.C. as per BillyBase.net’s stats.

Billy Strings and bandmates fiddler Alex Hargreaves, banjoist Billy Failing, mandolinist Jarrod Walker and bassist Royal Masat worked “Cold On The Shoulder” seamlessly into fan-favorite “On The Line,” which was played complete with a “Train 45” breakdown at the end.

Next came the fitting choice of Jerry Garcia & David Grisman’s “Dreadful Wind & Rain” for Billy’s first performance of the tune since December. The ensuing “In The Morning Light” was followed by a “Highway Hypnosis” featuring the Strings/Walker co-write “Gone A Long Time” within. A take on Béla Fleck’s “Tentacle Dragon (Revenge Of The)” gave way to “Red Rocking Chain,” which bled into “Everything’s The Same.” Strings and his bandmates went on to end the set by pairing “Cold Cold World” and “Thunder.” The latter spanned over 15 minutes including the intro out of the Blaze Foley cover “Cold Cold World.” Billy wrote music for Robert Hunter’s lyrics to “Thunder” given to him by Bill Kreutzmann. “Thunder” was first played in front of a live audience when Strings joined Billy & The Kids at Red Rocks in July 2021 for two “Dead On The Rocks” concerts.

Rain was still falling on the soaked capacity crowd who were “Taking Water” when Strings returned to get last night’s second set underway. The song co-written by Billy and frequent collaborator Jon Weisberger led into the instrumental “Ice Bridges.” Strings then dug deep within his repertoire for the 2023 debut of traditional song “Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor.” The five-piece looked to 2021’s Renewal next as album tracks “Hellbender” and “Hide & Seek” were split by a cover of Ralph Stanley’s “Ridin’ That Midnight Train.”

Billy Strings provided the biggest surprise of the night after the expansive “Hide & Seek.” The guitarist dusted off Grandpa Jones’ “It’s Raining Here This Morning” for the first time since May 28, 2021 at The Bonnaroo Farm as precipitation engulfed the stage. It was then back to Renewal for “The Fire On My Tongue,” which was linked with “Ole Slewfoot.” From there the band unveiled their version of “California Sober” just under two weeks following the release of the Willie Nelson collaboration and Strings performing the song live with Willie at the second of two Hollywood Bowl concerts celebrating the iconic musician’s 90th birthday.

The five-piece delivered the stirring “Away From The Mire” as the penultimate song of last night’s second set. Strings and his bandmates then wrapped the frame with the traditional “Little Maggie.” For the encore, the group offered a rousing rendition of Bill Monroe’s “Uncle Pen.” Billy Strings returns to Red Rocks tonight. A livestream is available for purchase via nugs.net.

View fan-shot video of the quintet performing “California Sober” for the first time below:

Setlist (via BillyBase.net)

Set One: Cold On The Shoulder > On The Line > Train 45, Dreadful Wind & Rain, In The Morning Light, Highway Hypnosis > Gone A Long Time > Highway Hypnosis, Tentacle Dragon (Revenge Of The) > Red Rocking Chair > Everything’s The Same, Cold Cold World > Thunder [1]

Set Two: Taking Water > Ice Bridges, Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor, Hellbender, Ridin’ That Midnight Train, Hide & Seek, It’s Raining Here This Morning, The Fire On My Tongue > Ole Slewfoot, California Sober [2], Away From The Mire, Little Maggie

Encore: Uncle Pen

• [1] – “Don’t Lie” (Greensky Bluegrass) tease
• [2] – FTP- Original