Watch Billy Strings Play Tony Rice’s Storied #58957 Martin Guitar

Billy Strings was given the honor of playing renowned bluegrass guitarist Tony Rice’s storied 1935 Martin D-28 acoustic guitar on Saturday at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The heavily modified guitar bearing the serial number #58957 still has the last set of strings Rice strung on the instrument before his death at age 69 on December 25, 2020.

Rice’s widow Pamela Hodges Rice brought #58957 to the venue for Strings to play. Before Rice owned the dreadnought D-28, the herringbone embellished guitar was owned by bluegrass musician Clarence White. Prior to White’s death in 1973, #58957 was loaned to Joe Miller, who later sold it to Rice in 1975. Read much more about #58957 via the Fretboard Journal’s deep dive into its history.

“Well folks, we’re going to gather around this can here,” Strings said as he and his bandmates assembled around a single microphone for the evening’s encore. “It just might require a little assistance on just the volume, we’re going to try to get it real quiet in here, especially because I want you to hear Tony Rice’s guitar! So this time I’m really serious, let’s listen to this thing talk a little bit. These strings are the last strings Tony Rice put on this guitar before he died.”

Strings’ encore on Saturday night saw him playing Rice’s signature guitar, kicking off the finale with Jerry Reed’s “Likes Of Me,” which Rice recorded for his 1984 album, Cold on the Shoulder. Next came Rice’s original instrumental composition “Tipper.” A staple of Rice’s repertoire, Keith Allison’s “Freeborn Man” continued with Strings pulling off run after run on the 88-year-old guitar. The show came to an end with Strings’ playing Rice’s #58957 on the former’s original “Freedom.”

Watch audience-shot video of “Likes Of Me” and “Tipper,” plus backstage and soundcheck footage of Billy Strings with Tony Rice’s 1935 Martin D-28 below:

Audio Taped by Team Dirty South

Setlist (via BillyBase)

Set One: Know It All, This Old World, Away From The Mire, Long Forgotten Dream, Highway Hypnosis, Leaders > Wargasm, In The Morning Light, Gone A Long Time, My Alice, Libby Phillips Rag, The Fire On My Tongue

Set Two: Running On Empty, Hellbender, Dust In A Baggie, Secrets, Show Me The Door, Meet Me At The Creek [1] > Pyramid Country [2] > Must Be Seven > Meet Me At The Creek, Red Daisy

Encore: Likes Of Me [3], Tipper [3], Freeborn Man3 [3], Freedom [3][4]

Notes:

• [1] Feel Like A Stranger tease
• [2] Turmoil and Tinfoil fake-out intro
• [3] Single mic, with Billy Strings on Tony Rice’s 1935 Martin guitar with the last strings Rice put on still on the guitar.
• [4] Billy encouraged everyone to check out the first annual Tony Rice Memorial Festival in Camp Springs, NC this year on Memorial Day weekend.