Billy Strings Debuts John Hartford Cover In Maine

Billy Strings sealed up a two-night run at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, Maine on Saturday. The guitarist added another song, “Presbyterian Guitar,” from John Hartford’s catalog to his repertoire toward the end of the second set.

Billy and his band — Jarrod Walker, bassist Royal Masat, banjo player Billy Failing and fiddler Alex Hargreaves — kicked off night two in Portland with “Gone A Long Time,” a Strings/Walker co-write residing on the group’s 2024 album, Highway Prayers.

Strings and company then hopped on the “Old Train” ahead of Renewal standout, “Heartbeat of America.” A “Must Be Seven” fake-out occurred as the band rolled out of the Bill Monroe-recorded traditional “Dusty Miller,” with the quintet instead opting to hit the Emmitt/Nershi number “New Country Blues.”

The first frame came to a close with a substantial bustout, “Just Because.” First recorded by Nelstone’s Hawaiians in 1929, influential early string band The Prairie Ramblers cut the song in 1935. The Portland performance marked Billy Strings’ first since 2023.

Set two launched with “I’m One Of Those,” a track off Strings’ tribute album to his late mother, So Much For Goodbyes, set to arrive on August 28. The second set also saw the band dusting off three more tunes: “Nashville Pickin'” (55 show gap), a cover of The Beatles’ “And Your Bird Can Sing” (162 show gap) and Jimmie Rodgers’ “Treasure Untold” (111 show gap).

The Hartford debut fell in the 10th song slot. Strings covers several songs from the influential singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist including staples such as “I’m Still Here” and “All Fall Down” along with additional favorites like “Steam Powered Aereo Plane,” “With A Vamp In The Middle” and “Two Hits And The Joint Turned Brown.”

The latest addition, “Presbyterian Guitar,” is a lowkey instrumental appearing on Hartford’s landmark 1971 album, Aereo-Plain. Strings and his bandmates delivered a fully-fleshed out version of the song in Portland after performing part of “Presbyterian Guitar” to introduce “Hide & Seek” several times in 2025.

Watch Billy Strings unveil “Presbyterian Guitar” below:

Setlist

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Livestreams, including a replay of last Saturday’s Portland concert, are available for all of Billy Strings’ 2026 Summer Tour dates with a nugs subscription.

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