Billy Strings, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings Make Surprise Appearances At Sam Grisman Project’s All-Star Ryman Auditorium Debut

Sam Grisman Project took the stage at the iconic Ryman Auditorium for the first time last night and were joined by Peter Rowan and an illustrious roster of special guests including Sam Bush, Tim O’Brien, Jerry Douglas, Lindsay Lou, Ronnie McCoury, Darol Anger and Rob McCoury. Most guests were announced before the show but the star power was taken over the top by surprise collaborations with Billy Strings, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.

Sam Grisman put together an expanded SGP lineup for the evening that saw the bassist accompanied by fiddler Alex Hargreaves, percussionist Chris J. English, mandolin player Dominick Leslie, multi-instrumentalist John Mailander, guitarist Logan Ledger, guitarist Max Flansburg, cellist Nat Smith and banjo player Victor Furtado. The first set was devoted to a mix of covers and originals before Rowan was aboard for a second set focused on the music of Old & In The Way.

Billy Strings emerged in the first set to shred on acoustic guitar over a pair of classic songs. Late in the set, Tim O’Brien and fiddler/vocalist Phoebe Hunt fronted the band on Bob Dylan’s “Señor (Tales of Yankee Power),” which also featured Billy Strings. The Dylan cover followed an array of Garcia-associated numbers including “Jack-A-Roe,” “Loser” and “Waiting For A Miracle.”

Tim O’Brien also helmed a take on Bonnie Dobson’s “Morning Dew,” a song the Grateful Dead often covered, after the performance of “Señor (Tales of Yankee Power).” Strings returned as Tim O’Brien and Jerry Douglas led the Sam Grisman Project, and Sam Bush through the Jimi Hendrix-popularized “Hey Joe.” Billy traded solos with several of the musicians on stage at various points of the set-closing song to the delight of the crowd.

Watch Strings’ appearances on “Hey Joe” and “Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)” as well as the O’Brien-led “Morning Dew” via fan-shot video below:

The legendary Peter Rowan starred on the second set as he joined the Sam Grisman Project on songs from his own and the Old & In The Way repertoire. First, however, Rowan brought out Gillian Welch and David Rawlings for a special trio version of “Snow Country Girl.” Sam Grisman, Ronnie McCoury, Robbie McCoury and Alex Hargreaves then backed Welch, Rawlings and Rowan on Peter’s classic song “Walls Of Time.” The rest of the frame saw Rowan and the Sam Grisman Project along with assorted guests play such Old & In The Way favorites as “Pig In A Pen,” “Panama Red,” “The Hobo Song,” “Dark Hollow,” “Wild Horses,” “Midnight Moonlight” and “Old And In The Way Breakdown.”

Check out footage of Welch and Rawlings performing with Rowan below:

Sam Grisman Project, Peter Rowan and the assembled guests wrapped the evening with an extended encore featuring a medley of “Going Down The Road Feeling Bad,” “We Bid You Goodnight” and “Lay Down Your Weary Tune.”

Setlist