Billy Strings Plays New Album In Full To Wrap Guest-Filled Halloween Run In Baltimore

Billy Strings followed his instant classic “O Billy, Where Art Thou?” Halloween concert by returning to Baltimore’s CFG Bank Arena on Friday to present the outstanding “One More Night On The Run: The Men & Women Of Constant Sorrow Perform The Songs Of Highway Prayers & More.”

Strings, his band and an impressive roster of guests devoted the first set on Friday to a complete performance of his recently released album, Highway Prayers. The guitarist and members of the all-star crew then treated fans to a second set focused on a diverse array of covers with a few beloved originals thrown in for a good measure.

Highway Prayers was delivered in the same sequence as found on Strings’ new LP. Billy Strings and bandmates mandolinist Jarrod Walker, violinist Alex Hargreaves, bassist Royal Masat and banjoist Billy Failing were joined by guests at various points of the complete album performance starting with Lindsay Lou adding her vocals to the “Leaning On A Travelin’ Song” opener.

Strings brought out cellist Nat Smith, Widespread Panic drummer Duane Trucks and Baltimore-bred singer/guitarist Cris Jacobs for a rousing “Gild The Lily” before Trucks stuck around to add drums to “Seven Weeks In The Country” and “Stratosphere Blues / I Believe In You.” The latter also saw Masat and Smith play keys and Lindsay Lou contribute vocals. After “Cabin Song,” Jerry Douglas came out on dobro for “Don’t Be Calling Me (At 4 AM).” From there, Sierra Hull lent a hand on mandolin to “Malfunction Junction,” Strings went solo for “Catch & Release,” Douglas returned for “Be Your Man” and Trucks joined Jerry Douglas as guests on “Gone A Long Time.”

A key highlight came a few songs later when Billy Strings employed a bong and sampler for the live debut of “MORBUD4ME,” which featured Sierra Hull, Lindsay Lou and Rachael Davis on backing vocals. Then, Duane Trucks was back behind the kit on the ensuing “Leadfoot.” The core quintet went on to perform the final three tracks of Highway Prayers to close the first set.

The geographically-fitting Del McCoury Band tune “Baltimore Johnny” featuring Sierra Hull kicked off the second set. Jerry Douglas then returned to join Hull, Strings and his band on Bill Monroe’s “Midnight On The Stormy Deep” and the traditional “Little Maggie.” Next, Trucks, Hull, Davis, Douglas, Lou and Vince Herman came aboard for a debut cover of Randy Weeks’ “Can’t Let Go” ahead of Strings’ first “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” since December 21, 2019 — a span of 411 shows. Vince Herman and Lindsay Lou handled lead vocals on “Nobody’s Fault But Mine,” which also featured Derek Trucks, Sierra Hull, Rachael Davis and Jerry Douglas.

Jerry Douglas was the lone guest to contribute to the subsequent pairing of “Leaving London” and “John Hardy.” It was then O Brother, Where Are Thou star Chris Thomas King who stepped into the spotlight to lead the cast through his own “John Law Burned Down The Liquor Sto.” Another bust out followed as Strings broke out the Jimi Hendrix-popularized “Hey Joe,” which was last played on September 18, 2021. A debut cover of The Beatles/Buck Owens-popularized “Act Naturally” followed featuring Tim Blake Nelson on lead vocals along with contributions from Vince Herman, Nat Smith, Chris Thomas King, Sierra Hull, Lindsay Lou, Rachael Davis and Duane Trucks. The same players added to the Billy Strings debut of the traditional “Ain’t No More Cane On The Brazos.”

The next segment saw Strings and Masat go electric with special guests Duane Trucks on drums and Nat Smith on synth for original “Leaders” and a cover of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid.” Cris Jacobs then led the crew through Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down A Dream” and Bobby Bare’s “The Streets Of Baltimore” before Strings and his band played “Dust In A Baggie” accompanied by Jacobs, Trucks and Douglas. The entire cast emerged to say farewell with a “Y’all Come” finale.

Billy Strings’ fall tour continues on December 6 with the first of two shows in Memphis. Watch livestreams with a nugs.net subscription. nugs.net subscriptions also include access to official live recordings. (JamBase earns a commission from affiliate purchases/subscriptions).

View the livestream preview and more fan-shot video of Friday’s show below:

Setlist (via BillyBase)

Set One: Leaning on a Travelin’ Song [1], In the Clear, Escanaba, Gild the Lily [2], Seven Weeks in County [3], Stratosphere Blues / I Believe in You [4][5], Cabin Song, Don’t Be Calling Me (at 4 AM) [6], Malfunction Junction [7], Catch and Release [8], Be Your Man [9], Gone A Long Time [3][9], It Ain’t Before, My Alice, Seney Stretch, MORBUD4ME [10][11], Leadfoot [12], Happy Hollow, The Beginning of the End, Richard Petty [13][14]

Set Two: Baltimore Johnny [7], Midnight On The Stormy Deep [9] [15], Little Maggie [7][9], Can’t Let Go [16][17], Nobody’s Fault But Mine [17][18][19], Leaving London [20], John Hardy [9], John Law Burned Down The Liquor Sto’ [21][22][23], Hey Joe [24][25], Act Naturally [26] [27], Ain’t No More Cane on the Brazos [27][28], Leaders [29], Paranoid [29][30], Running Down A Dream [31][32], The Streets Of Baltimore [33][34], Dust In A Baggie [35], Y’all Come [36]

Notes:

• [1] w/ Lindsay Lou (Bluegrass and Americana singer and songwriter) on vocals
• [2] w/ Royal on bass guitar, Nat Smith (Internationally-performing cellist), Duane Trucks (Widespread Panic drummer) and Cris Jacobs (Local American singer and songwriter)
• [3] w/ Duane Trucks (drums)
• [4] Billy Strings on a Martin 12-String HD12-28 & Royal Masat on a Nord Stage 3 88-Key Keyboard
• [5] w/ Duane Trucks (drums), Nat Smith (Prophet Rev2 Synthesizer) and Lindsay Lou (vocals)
• [6] w/ Jerry Douglas (Grammy award-winning Dobro player)
• [7] w/ Sierra Hull (Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist)
• [8] Billy Strings solo
• [9] w/ Jerry Douglas (dobro)
• [10] Debut – Original
• [11] Billy on a small MG10XU 10-Channel Mixer, using a Boss Vocal Looper
• [12] w/ Billy on Masterton ML-1: Missing Link Béla Fleck Baritone Banjo, Billy Failing on guitar and Duane Trucks (drums)
• [13] Band (minus Alex) single mic front of stage
• [14] All of Set 1 is Billy’s new album “Highway Prayers” Played in Full from Track 1-20 w/ Special Guests
• [15] w/ Sierra Hull on vocals and mandolin
• [16] FTP – Randy Weeks
• [17] w/ Duane Trucks (drums), Sierra Hull (mandolin, vocals), Rachael Davis (vocals), Vince Herman (guitar), Jerry Douglas (dobro), and Lindsay Lou (vocals)
• [18] Vince Herman and Lindsay Lou on lead vocals
• [19] Last Time Played 2019-12-21 | 411 Shows
• [20] w/ Jerry Douglas (dobro) and Nat Smith (cello)
• [21] w/ Chris Thomas King (New Orleans Grammy and Country Music Award winning blues guitarist, actor, and author) guitar and lead vocals
• [22] w/ Sierra Hull (mandolin), Lindsay Lou (vocals), Rachael Davis (vocals) and Jerry Douglas (dobro)
• [23] FTP – Chris Thomas King
• [24] Jerry Douglas on lead vocals and dobro & Nat Smith (cello)
• [25] Last Time Played 2021-09-18 | 306 Shows
• [26] FTP – Johnny Russell
• [27] w/ Tim Blake Nelson (American actor and director) on lead vocals, Vince Herman on vocals and guitar, Nat Smith (cello), Chris Thomas King (guitar), Sierra Hull (mandolin, vocals), Lindsay Lou (vocals), Rachael Davis (vocals), and Duane Trucks (drums)
• [28] FTP – Traditional
• [29] Billy on his electric PRS guitar, Duane Trucks (drums), Nat Smith (Prophet Rev2 Synthesizer), and Royal on electric bass
• [30] Last Time Played 2019-11-13 | 422 Shows
• [31] w/ Cris Jacobs on lead vocals and guitar, Duane Trucks (drums) and Nat Smith (cello)
• [32] Last Time Played 2019-05-11 | 496 Shows
• [33] w/ Cris Jacobs on lead vocals and guitar, Jerry Douglas (dobro), Duane Trucks (drums) and Nat Smith (cello)
• [34] Last Time Played 2022-07-22 | 212 Shows
• [35] w/ Jerry Douglas (Dobro), Cris Jacobs (guitar), and Duane Trucks (drums)
• [36] w/ Everyone