Photo by Jesse Faatz

Last night, Billy Stings continued his tour with a stop at The Observatory in Santa Ana, Calif. The bluegrass golden boy performed 12 covers during the 25-song gig and welcomed Post Malone for a take on Johnny Cash’s “Cocaine Blues.”

The Southern California get down began with a cover of Jerry Reed’s “The Likes of Me,” which segued into 2017’s “Pyramid Country” and a take on Johnny Horton’s “Ole Slew Foot,” a tune commonly performed by Strings. Next up, the guitar virtuoso played “Wargasm” and then covered The Stanley Brothers’ “Rank Stranger” before returning with an original tune, 2013’s “Dust in a Baggie.”

The first set continued with “Hellbender” a tune off Strings’ fifth studio Renewal. Then Strings and his band covered “Cassidy,” off Bob Weir’s 1972 debut LP, Ace. The performance continued with a paring from 2021’s Renewal, “Secrets,” and “Show Me the Door,” before following up with a take on David Grisman’s “Ralphs Banjo Special.” The first set concluded with “Meet Me at the Creek.” 

Set two got underway with double dose 2019’s Home, and continued with a selection of five covers: Larry Sparks’ “John Deere Tractor,” the Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs favorite “Doin’ My Time,” followed by a take on Eddie Noack’s “Psycho” and Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys’ “Gold Rush.” Then, Post Malone took the stage to sit in on a cover of the Woody Guthrie original turned Johnny Cash classic, “Cocaine Blues.” Malone has been known to move easily from his hip-hop proclivities to other genres including outlaw county – having famously covered Sturgill Simpson’s “You Can Have The Crown,” in 2021.

Strings continued with “Fire Line” and “Running the Route” before performing “Love Like Me.” Then, he took on a cover of New Grass Revival’s 1972 track, “Whisper My Name,” before closing out the second set with an original fan favorite, “Hide & Seek.” Finally, for his encore, Strings returned to the stage to play the traditional number, “If Your Hair’s Too Long (There’s Sin in Your Heart).” 

Next on the tour docket, Strings and his band will travel to Sin City to perform a sold-out show at the Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas on April 15. The following day they’ll head back to The Golden State for a gig at Cal Coast Credit Union in San Diego. Tickets are still available for the April 16 performance. 

For additional information, visit billystrings.com. 

Stream Official Concert Audio & Video on nugs.net.

See Jesse Fatz’s photos of Billy String’s Santa Ana concert below.

 

 

 

 

 

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Billy Strings 

The Observatory– Santa Ana, Calif. 

April 13, 2022 

Set I: The Likes of Me, Pyramid Country > Ole Slew-Foot, Wargasm, Rank Stanger, Dust in a Baggie, Hellbender, Cassidy, Secrets, Show Me the Door, Ralphs Banjo Special, Meet Me at the Creek 

Set II: Away From the Mire, Long Forgotten Dream, John Deere Tractor, Doin’ My Time, Psycho, Gold Rush, Cocaine Blues*, Fire Line, Running the Route, Love Like Me, Whisper My Name, Hide & Seek

Enc.: If Your Hair’s Too Long (There’s Sin in Your Heart)

Notes:

* With Post Malone