Billy Strings Debuts ‘No Rain’ Cover & Celebrates John Hartford’s Birthday In New Orleans

Billy Strings continued his New Year’s Eve run at UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans on Monday. The guitarist and his band premiered a cover of Blind Melon’s “No Rain” and nodded to John Hartford on what would have been his 87th birthday.

Following an opening pair of “Malfunction Junction,” from Billy’s 2024 album Highway Prayers, and “Know It All,” Strings and company took “Fire Line” for a 15-minute ride and then gave the same exploration to Frank Wakefield’s “End of the Rainbow,” including a tease of the Inspector Gadget theme.

The first set came to a close with a Hartford trifecta of “With a Vamp in the Middle,” “All Fall Down” and “Way Down the River Road,” the latter last played in 2015, as per bmfsdb.com. The sequence saw fiddler Alex Hargreaves shine on Hartford’s instrument of choice. Watch the John Hartford birthday medley below:

Billy launched set two with “Hellbender” ahead of the favorite “Dust in a Baggie.” Following Highway Prayers cut “Escanaba,” Strings and company offered the debut of the beloved Blind Melon song “No Rain.” The track off the band’s 1993 self-titled debut album carried a bluegrass swing and led into Highway Prayers’ “Gild the Lily.” Check out both songs:

Billy Strings and the band had one more Hartford number up their sleeves when banjo player Billy Failing stepped to the mic to sing the classic “Steam Powered Aereo Plane.” The band took a journey through Renewal (2021) cut “Hide and Seek” to bring the second set to a close.

The encore got underway with more Highway Prayers in “Richard Petty.” As they are wont to do, Billy Strings and the band closed the concert with a Bill Monroe tune, the standard “Uncle Pen,” performed around a single mic.

Watch “Uncle Pen” and listen to the full show below:

Billy Strings concludes his 2024 New Year’s run tonight in New Orleans. Livestreams are available via nugs.net.