Billy Strings Breaks Out ‘Tangled Up In Blue’ Cover In Savannah

Billy Strings dug deep into his repertoire on Saturday to start his second of two shows at Savannah, Georgia’s Enmarket Arena with a pair of rare covers. Strings and his band kicked off the concert with their first performance of the traditional “Cattle In The Cane” in nearly a year and then treated fans to a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Tangled Up In Blue.”

The guitarist, mandolinist Jarrod Walker, bassist Royal Masat and banjo player Billy Failing debuted their rendition of “Tangled Up In Blue” on April 10, 2021. Six additional versions of the opening track from Dylan’s landmark 1975 album Blood On The Tracks followed through December 30, 2022, including two with Alex Hargreaves. The fiddler officially joined Strings’ band in July of 2022 but was Billy’s guests on June 15, 2022, one of the nights the guitarist covered the Dylan classic.

Strings’ “Tangled Up In Blue” on Saturday in Savannah marked his first cover of the song in 181 shows. Watch Billy Strings launch Saturday night’s show by busting out “Cattle In The Cane” and “Tangled Up In Blue” below via nugs.net:

Billy Strings followed the rare covers by performing a run of originals “Red Daisy,” “Heartbeat Of America” and “In The Morning Light.” Strings then honored beloved Georgia band Widespread Panic with his rendition of “All Time Low,” which led into a cover of Townes Van Zandt’s “White Freight Liner Blues.” From there, the full band sans Hargreaves gathered around a single mic for unamplified versions of “Richard Petty” and “If Your Hair Is Too Long, There’s Sin In Your Heart.”

Alex Hargreaves returned as the musicians settled back at their usual positions for the Pink Floyd classic “Fearless.” Strings and his bandmates then closed out the set with an extended “Turmoil & Tinfoil.”

Billy Strings came out for the second set on clawhammer banjo with Walker on guitar and Hargreaves on fiddle as they once again gathered around a single mic for a coupling of Doc Watson’s “Frosty Morn” and the traditional “Crawdad Song.” It was then back to originals and the typical setup for “Fire Line,” “Running The Route,” “Gild The Lily” and “Happy Hollow.”

The rest of the frame saw Strings & Co. alternate between covers and originals. “Hello, City Limits” preceded “Be Your Man” before “Sally Goodin” bled into “Ridin’ That Midnight Train.” Billy picked “Taking Water” to give way to “End Of The Rainbow” to end his second set on Saturday in Savannah. The guitarist nodded to the state hosting the concert by performing a “My Little Georgia Rose” encore.

Additional Videos

Billy Strings returns to the stage tomorrow, April 15 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Watch Billy’s show at John Paul Jones Arena and all of his spring headline concerts with a nugs.net all access subscription.

Setlist (via BillyBase.net)

Set One: Cattle In The Cane [1] > Tangled Up In Blue [2], Red Daisy, Heartbeat Of America, In The Morning Light, All Time Low > White Freightliner Blues, Richard Petty [3], If Your Hair Is Too Long, There’s Sin In Your Heart [3], Fearless [4], Turmoil & Tinfoil

Set Two: Frosty Morn [5], Crawdad Hole [5], Fire Line > Running The Route > Gild the Lily, Happy Hollow, Hello, City Limits, Be Your Man, Sally Goodin > Ridin’ That Midnight Train, Taking Water > End Of The Rainbow

Encore: My Little Georgia Rose

Notes:

• [1] – Last Time Played 2024-05-21 | 57 show gap
• [2] – Last Time Played 2022-12-30 | 181 show gap
• [3] – Full band (minus Alex) around single mic front of stage
• [4] – “Guitar Peace” intro
• [5] – Billy Strings on clawhammer banjo, Jarrod Walker on guitar, and Alex Hargreaves on fiddle single mic front of stage