Photo by Jesse Faatz
Last night, Billy Strings and his fellowship of musicians continued to elate and inspire with the second evening of their The Lord of the Rings-themed Halloween celebration, “Away from the Shire,” at the ExploreAsheville.com Arena in Asheville, N.C. Those who committed their instruments to Strings – who was costumed as Frodo Baggins – included Billy Failing (banjo) as Aragorn son of Arathorn, Alex Hargreaves (fiddle) as Legolas, Royal Masat (bass) as the Istari Gandalf, Rushad Eggleston (cello) as Smeagol/Gollum, Anh Phung (flute) and Tatiana Hargreaves (fiddle) as elves, Jon Stickley (guitar) as Bilbo Baggins and Jarrod Walker (mandolin) as Samwise Gamgee.
The second journey distancing the group away from the warmth and comfort of the Shine and towards Mount Doom began with a pairing of Howard Shore covers “Foundations of Stone” and “The Prophecy.” They then moved into two songs off Strings 2019 LP Home, “Watch It Fall” and “Longforgotten Dream,” before a jam of “Running” > “Running the Route.” They continued with a quick nod to the Third Age with “This Old World” before a big stride through nature. Their jam traveled from Gordon Lightfoot’s “Home From the Forest” into the traditional “Black Mountain Rag,” which melded into Pearl Jam’s “In My Tree” and then Béla Fleck’s “Down in the Swamp.” From there, the musical journey shifted into “Show Me Mordor,” a song with intolerable heat and melded Doc Watson’s “You Must Come in at the Door” with Jimmy Driftwood’s “Tennessee Stud” to close the first set.
After a bit of rest, the Strings and his retainers jammed from “Rabbit in a Log” into a soaring cover of Rushad Eggleston’s “I Peed on a Bird.” Next came “Nights in White Satin” by The Moody Blues and Billy Failing’s reflective “So Many Miles.” They then honored their fellow warriors in music Widespread Panic with a cover of “Fishing.” The set marched onward with “There Is a Time” by The Dillards, then John Hartford’s “All Fall Down” and “Bonaparte’s Retreat.” The set was rounded out with “Wargasm,” a cover of Johnny Cash’s “Big River,” Strings glimmering “In the Morning Light,” and finally, “Taking Water.” The fellowship encored with Keith Allison’s “Freeborn Man.”
Billy Strings and his fellowship will conclude their Away from the Shire run tonight, Halloween, Oct. 31, 2022, at the ExploreAsheville.com Arena.
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Billy Strings
ExploreAsheville.com Arena – Asheville, N.C.
Oct. 31, 2022
Set I: Foundations of Stone (Howard Shore song), The Prophecy (Howard Shore cover), Watch It Fall, Long Forgotten Dream, Running (>) Running the Route, This Old World, Home From the Forest (Gordon Lightfoot cover) (>) Black Mountain Rag ([traditional] cover) (>) In My Tree (Pearl Jam cover) (>) Down in the Swamp (Béla Fleck cover) (>) Show Me Mordor (>) You Must Come in at the Door (Doc Watson cover) (>) Tennessee Stud (Jimmy Driftwood cover)
Set II: Rabbit in a Log (>) I Peed on a Bird (Rushad Eggleston cover), Nights in White Satin (The Moody Blues cover), So Many Miles (Billy Failing cover), Fishing (Widespread Panic cover), There Is a Time (The Dillards cover), All Fall Down (John Hartford cover), Bonaprte’s Retreat, Wargasm, Big River (Johnny Cash cover), In the Morning Light, Taking Water
Enc.: Freeborn Man (Keith Allison cover)
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