Billy Strings Gets Taken ‘Out To The Ball Game’ & ‘Out On The Ocean’ In Boston

Billy Strings landed in Boston for two shows this week at Agganis Arena and used the off day on Monday to attend the Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park. Strings described his visit to the historic MLB ballpark and performed “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” in a nod to the memorable experience.

The second set baseball-themed detour was Strings’ fourth known performance of the song written by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer. The last “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” played by Strings occurred in 2021. Speaking about seeing the Boston Red Sox defeat the Baltimore Orioles (continuing an impressive 14-game winning streak), Strings addressed the audience, stating:

“How ya feelin’ Boston? I bet you’re in a pretty good mood after last night’s game. I’ll tell you what, I can’t sit up here and pretend like I am very much of a sports person. I never played sports growing up or anything – I didn’t have money for cleats or nothing like that.

“I’m from Michigan, so it was the [Detroit] Tigers back there. I don’t know if you guys hate them or whatever. But I like bluegrass because it’s an American art form. It’s a lot like baseball, to me, anyways.

“So to go see a game last night at Fenway was pretty fuckin’ awesome. And seeing the energy and the attitude and love y’all had for your team kinda makes me wanna be a sports fan. I mean, I was into it. It was really good.”

Boston was also treated to a debut cover of “Out On The Ocean” during the first set of Tuesday’s concert. The song was written by Red Allen, who recorded it with The Kentuckians (whose lineup included David Grisman).

The second set saw Strings and his bandmates – bassist Royal Masat, mandolinist Jarrod Walker, banjo player Billy Failing and fiddler Alex Hargreaves – get close around a single microphone for stripped-down takes on “Freedom,” “I Only Exist” and (sans Hargreaves) “Richard Petty.”

Watch “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” from the audience’s perspective last night in Boston below:

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Livestreams, including a replay of last night’s Boston concert, are available for all of Billy Strings’ 2026 Summer Tour dates with a nugs subscription. Register now during nugs’ Concert Pass promotion and pay $5 per month for the first three months.

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