See Billy Strings Honor Neal Casal With Poignant Cover In Alabama

Billy Strings wrapped his 2023 Summer Tour as well as a two-night stand at Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Alabama on Saturday, August 26. Billy honored late guitarist and singer-songwriter Neal Casal on the fourth anniversary of the date he died by suicide.

The tribute to Casal came toward the end of his second set with the Billy Strings debut of “All The Luck in The World.” The song originally appeared on Neal’s 1996 album, Rain, Wind & Speed. While it was the Billy Strings debut, the guitarist recorded the song with Neal’s former band, Circles Around The Sun, for the 2020 tribute album Highway Butterfly: The Songs Of ‪Neal Casal.

Watch Billy Strings honor Neal Casal below:

Strings opened the concert with “Long Forgotten Dream.” Elsewhere in the first set, Billy and the band — mandolinist Jarrod Walker, bassist Royal Masat, banjo player Billy Failing and fiddler Alex Hargreaves — embarked on a “Must Be Seven,” “Pyramid Country” and “Hide and Seek” excursion. The first frame also saw the debut of the locale-appropriate “Alabama Jubilee” by Collins and Harlan. “Doin’ Things Right” wrapped the set.

Billy launched the second set with a 10-minute “Meet Me At The Creek.” The second set also saw a “Running The Route” > “Running” pairing, the third rendition of Carson Robinson’s “Open Up Them Pearly Gates,” a nearly 10-minute “Heartbeat of America” and a cover of the Moody Blues classic “Nights In White Satin” ahead of the second set closer, “Turmoil & Tinfoil.”

Strings and company returned to bust out a fitting cover to close a tour, “Ain’t Gonna Work Tomorrow.” Billy Strings last performed The Carter Family tune on June 2, 2019 for a total gap of 401 shows. Listen to Billy Strings complete summer tour closer below thanks to taper David Dyche:

Setlist via (BillyBase)

Set 1: Long Forgotten Dream, The Cuckoo, Libby Phillips Rag, This Old World, Must Be Seven > Pyramid Country > Hide and Seek, Ain’t Nothing To Me, Tom Dooley Alabama Jubilee[1], Be Your Man, Doin’ Things Right

Set 2: Meet Me At The Creek, Stone Walls & Steel Bars, Running The Route > Running, Open Up Them Pearly Gates, Heartbeat Of America, All Of Tomorrow, Gone A Long Time, Ashland Breakdown, All The Luck In The World[2], Red Daisy, Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down, Nights In White Satin,T urmoil & Tinfoil

Encore: Ain’t Gonna Work Tomorrow[3]

Notes:

• [1] FTP – Collins and Harlan
• [2] FTP – Neal Casal
• [3] Last Played 2019-06-02 | 401 show gap