Billy Strings Honors Ronnie Bowman With New Song Debut In St. Augustine
Strings played a song he co-wrote with Bowman, who sadly died last month at age 64.
By Andy Kahn Apr 3, 2026 • 7:23 am PDT
Billy Strings dedicated his encore last night to Ronnie Bowman, the accomplished bluegrass musician who died last month at age 64. The tribute to Bowman came at the end of Strings’ concert on Thursday at St. Augustine Amphitheatre in St. Augustine, Florida.
Bowman, who shared the stage with Strings at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville in March 2025, passed away on March 22 after being involved in a motorcycle accident. In addition to a solo career and substantial songwriting credits, Bowman was a member of the influential bluegrass groups The Lost & Found and The Lonesome River Band.
“A couple weeks ago, the entire bluegrass community was rocked with the tragic loss of the great Ronnie Bowman,” Strings said. “He was a friend of ours, and he was a friend of yours. And he was a friend of bluegrass music and country music. And he wrote a lot of amazing songs. I had the pleasure of writing one song with Ronnie Bowman, and I’ve never played it before. I think we probably started a couple of songs – this is the one that we finished. So, we’ll try to give it our shot. Send this up to Ronnie Bowman.”
Strings and his bandmates – mandolinist Jarrod Walker, bassist Royal Masat, banjo player Billy Failing and fiddler Alex Hargreaves – then premiered the Bowman co-write “Something To Look Forward To.”
The concert ended with a final nod to Bowman, coming in the form of the song “Drifting With The Tide,” which Bowman recorded for what Strings called his “absolutely amazing” 1994 debut solo album, Cold Virginia Night.
The encore was not the only spot where Strings debuted a new song on Thursday night. The first show of the three-night run in St. Augustine also saw the emergence of the Strings’ original “Night Fishing.” Strings cast the newcomer as the penultimate song of the first set.
Last night’s concert featuring Billy Strings’ tribute to Ronnie Bowman can be viewed via an on-demand nugs livestream replay. Additional livestreams of Strings’ April 2026 Tour are available to nugs subscribers.
Scroll on to watch Billy Strings debut new songs and more from last night’s show in St. Augustine.
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