Watch Sierra Hull Join Railroad Earth For Euphoric ‘Long Way To Go’ At Strings & Sol

Railroad Earth brought out Sierra Hull to accompany them on the final song of their set at Strings & Sol 2023 on Thursday afternoon. Hull showed off her remarkable mandolin skills in adding to “Long Way To Go” at Dreams Sapphire Resort in Puerto Morelos, Mexico.

The New Jersey-birthed band and Strings & Sol veterans — guitarist Todd Sheaffer, fiddler Tim Carbone, mandolinist John Skehan, multi-instrumentalist Mike Robinson, drummer Carey Harmon, keyboardist Matt Slocum and bassist Dave Speranza — launched the Beach Stage action yesterday with a 90-minute performance. Railroad Earth mixed songs from throughout their two-decade career during their first of two sets at the destination event.

After opening with “Chasin’ A Rainbow” off 2014’s The Last Of The Outlaws, the seven-piece offered their oft-played take on the Tom Waits classic “Cold Water” and a version of the Tim O’Brien/Darrell Scott co-write “Walk Beside Me.” It was back to the original songbook for “The Jupiter And The 119” along with All For The Song (2022) standout “It’s So Good,” which gave way to the beloved oldie “Head.”

The set rolled on with improvisational showcase “Just So You Know.” Next up was the location-appropriate “Day On The Sand” to begin a suite that also included fan-favorite “Like A Buddha” and a return to Last Of The Outlaws for “Grandfather Mountain.” Sierra Hull then emerged for the “Long Way To Go” finale. Hull interwined her mandolin work with Shekan’s at one point and fit in cool rhythmic stylings when she wasn’t soloing.

Watch fan-shot footage filmed by Rob Turner of Hull and RRE’s collaboration below:

Setlist (via Railroad Earth Facebook)

Set: Chasin’ A Rainbow, Cold Water, Walk Beside Me, The Jupiter and the 119, It’s So Good > Head, Just So You Know, Day on the Sand > Like a Buddha > Grandfather Mountain, Long Way To Go*

* – featuring Sierra Hull on mandolin