Photo by Jesse Faatz


On Feb. 21, Billy Strings performed the fifth of six livestreamed shows at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y., dubbed ‘The Deja Vu Experiment.’ The dates were chosen to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead’s February 1971 performances at the venue, which took place on the same exact dates. While the first night was streamed for free on The Relix Channel on Twitch, last night’s show (and the three prior to it) aired as a pay-per-view event on FANS.

At the shows in 1971, the Grateful Dead conducted ESP Experiments, which consisted of “prompting Deadheads in the audience to focus on imagery shown by the band and telepathically send the imagery to a test subject.” (Quote via the event’s description.) A virtual version of such an experiment was conducted during ‘The Deja Vu Experiment.’ Viewers were urged to send an image (a pair of eyes for last night’s show) to a guest receiver. Lindsay Lou served as the receiver for night 5; after the conclusion of the show, she video chatted with the band and presented a drawing of his vision of the image.

Strings continued to debut new tunes during the run. After an opening “Taking Water,” the band dove in to the first ever performance of “Ice Bridges,” a new instrumental original. Next came a Grateful Dead cover in “Dire Wold.” Later in the set, Strings and the band performed the Dead’s “To Lay Me Down” before closing the frame with “Dark Hollow.”

The second set opened with another original debut, this one titled “Fire Line.” Another highlight came later in the evening, when Strings played his last Dead cover of the night in “China Doll.” The set closed with “Away From The Mire.”

Check out a sneak peek of the show below, as well as the full setlist. Tune into Billy Strings’ final Deja Vu Experiment performance tonight, airing for free on The Relix Channel on Twitch.

Billy Strings
Feb. 23, 2021
The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester NY
Set I: Taking Water > Ice Bridges*, Dire Wolf, Gold Rush > Bringin’ In The Georgia Mail, Watch It Fall, A Robin Built A Nest On Daddy’s Grave > Sophronie, To Lay Me Down, Dark Hollow

Set II: Fire Line* > I’m Still Here > Midnight Moonlight, Lonesome Moonlight Waltz, Will You Be Lovin Another Man?, China Doll, Pretty Daughter, Away From The Mire

*debut, Billy Strings original