Billy Strings Debuts Covers At Dark Star Jubilee

By Ming Lee Newcomb May 28, 2019 12:53 pm PDT

Over Memorial Day Weekend, Dark Star Jubilee returned to Thornville, Ohio’s iconic Legend Valley. The festival hosted by Dark Star Orchestra saw a number of standout performances, including a debut-heavy set from young guitar prodigy Billy Strings.

During the show, Strings opened with a pair of classic bluegrass covers, “Ernest T. Grass” into the Stanley Brothers’ “How Mountain Girls Can Love.” Next, he turned to his LP Turmoil & Tinfoil for a take on “While I’m Waiting Here” ahead of Doc Watson’s “The Train That Carried My Girl From Town” and traditional “Black Mountain Rag.” Strings and his band then moved through a quick rendition of “Watch It Fall” and “Pretty Daughter” before landing in his 2017 title track “Turmoil & Tinfoil,” with the 14-minute rendition housing teases of the Grateful Dead’s “Playing In The Band” and the now-iconic Game of Thrones theme.

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After “These Old Blues,” Strings offered up his first debut of the night in the form of a cover of Greensky Bluegrass’ “Reverend.” After giving a nod to his frequent collaborators’ 2008 album Five Interstates, he used original “Pyramid Country” to move into another debut cover: Willie Nelson’s “Devil In A Sleeping Bag” off 1973’s Shotgun Willie. To close out the set, the group played a fiery take on fan-favorite “Dust In A Baggie” ahead of a 16-minute “Meet Me At The Creek.”

Listen to full show audio from Billy Strings’ set at Dark Star Jubilee below, which was recorded By Garran Petrie and tracked by Brad Dietsch:

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Setlist

Set: Ernest T Grass > How Mountain Girls Can Love, While I’m Waiting Here, The Train That Carried My Girl From Town > Black Mountain Rag, Watch It Fall, Pretty Daughter, Turmoil & Tinfoil *, These Old Blues, Reverend ^, Pyramid Country > Devil In A Sleeping Bag #, Dust In A Baggie, Meet Me At The Creek

  • * = with “Playing in the Band” and Game of Thrones theme teases
  • ^ = first time played (Greensky Bluegrass cover)
  • # = first time played (Willie Nelson cover)
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