Billy Strings Debuts ‘Peach Pickin’ Time In Georgia’ Cover At Peach Music Festival

Billy Strings capped his two-set headlining appearance Thursday at the Peach Music Festival by debuting a cover of “Peach Pickin’ Time In Georgia” by Jimmie Rodgers. Strings was once again accompanied by fiddler Alex Hargreaves for the entire performance at Montage Mountain in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Strings, Hargreaves, mandolinist Jarrod Walker, bassist Royal Masat and banjoist Billy Failing began their first set with “Fire On My Tongue” into “Bronzback.” The quintet then stretched out a bit on “Heartbeat of America,” which they followed with “In the Morning Light.”

Some of the first set’s deepest jamming took place within the subsequent “Away From The Mire.” Strings continued to pull from his 2019 album Home and 2021’s Renewal, filling in the rest of the opening set with “Long Forgotten Dream” and “Love Like Me” from the former and “Highway Hypnosis” and “This Old World” from the latter.

Coming back from set break, Strings addressed the Peach crowd. He check how everyone’s set break was, and then detailed what he experienced backstage between sets.

“Did you guys have a good set break?, Strings asked. “Was it weird? It was kind of weird for me, I spent all of set break combing through my hair because I thought I felt a bug. So I got my hair nice and combed for you guys. I didn’t find a bug though — I guess it already went inside my ears and laid eggs.”

Set two began with more original material via the pairing of “Taking Water” into “Ice Bridges,” and continued with two songs off 2017’s Turmoil & Tinfoil, “While I’m Waiting Here” and a lengthy “Pyramid Country.” The second set progressed with “Know It All,” “Enough to Leave” and “Hollow Heart,” before Failing took over lead vocals on “So Many Miles.”

Rounding out the set, Strings delivered more originals, “Everything’s The Same,” “Secrets” and “Show Me the Door.” The lone cover played by Strings over the course of his two Peach sets was the aforementioned “Peach Pickin’ Time In Georgia” debut.

Below stream the entire headlining performance taped by Jeff Travitz and transferred by Keith Litzenberger:

Setlist (via BillyBase.net)

Set One: The Fire On My Tongue > Bronzeback, Heartbeat Of America, In The Morning Light, Away From The Mire, Long Forgotten Dream, Love Like Me, Highway Hypnosis, This Old World

Set Two: Taking Water > Ice Bridges, While I’m Waiting Here > Pyramid Country > Know It All, Enough To Leave, Hollow Heart, So Many Miles, Everything’s The Same, Secrets, Show Me The Door, Peach Picking Time In Georgia [1]

Notes:

• With Alex Hargreaves on fiddle for the entire show
• [1] debut, Jimmie Rodgers