Photo: Stevo Rood

On Friday night, Billy Strings pulled into the Chicago area for the latest stop on his ongoing Spring Tour. The first of two performances on the Allstate Arena stage in Rosemont, Ill. arrived after the bluegrass golden boy flexed his chops with jam stalwarts Widespread Panic during an extensive sit-in that culminated as a full second set and encore team-up on Thursday, June 5. Strings’ concerts in the Land of Lincoln incorporated bust-outs and teases that accentuated the group’s arsenal of originals and covers. 

Strings and his band, Royal Masat, Jarrod Walker, Billy Failing and Alex Hargreaves coalesced their skills on “Long Forgotten Dream” and “Living Like an Animal,” performed without pause and merging into the night’s third placement, the Turmoil & Tinfoil cut, “While I’m Waiting Here.” The latter included a tease of Andrea Bocelli’s “Por Ti Volare,” igniting smiles in recognition of the Step Brothers connection, and a nod toward Will Ferrell’s ​​Brennan Huff character’s performance at the Catalina Wine Mixer. 

Following the humorous rag, the ensemble continued with the originals “Cabin Song” and “Fire Line.” The previously mentioned number seeped into the traditional “Reuben’s Train” for a fiery addition to the night’s output and initial set. “Running” arrived next, ahead of the Renewal-featured “Show Me the Door” and the Paul Hoffman-penned/Greensky Bluegrass number, “Reverend.” The Highway Prayers cuts, “Escanaba” and “Happy Hollow,” took the band into Friday night’s set break. 

Returning for the latter half of the night, the band found their start on “Gild the Lily.” Strings pulled out a Martin Grand J-28E, and Masat appeared on a Nord Stage 3 88-Key Keyboard. At the same time, Failing handled the Masterton ML-1: Missing Link Béla Fleck Baritone Banjo during “Stratosphere Blues / I Believe in You,” bleeding into an intro jam of the traditional “Katy Hill” and a full take on “Hollow Heart.” 

The second set eventually yielded a bust-out, the Darol Anger-written, David Grisman Quintet-associated “Key Signator,” for the first time since August 7, 2023, ending a 136-show performance gap. Notably, Strings shared the stage with Anger earlier this year in Seattle, during David “Dawg” Grisman’s 80th birthday celebration, where he appeared as a special guest alongside second-generation torchbearer of Dawg music, Sam Grisman. 

Night one’s encore also commenced with a bust out, this time, John Hartford’s “In Tall Buildings,” for the first time since June 29, 2022, ending a 258-show gap. The band’s follow-up on Saturday, June 7, featured a similar mix of bust-outs and teases, but not before a hefty offering of traditional bluegrass tunes, self-penned numbers, and a solo Strings at the front of the stage on the Jamey Johnson release “Lonely at the Top,” and traditional “John Henry.” The latter had not been performed since Nov. 12, 2023, 108 shows ago. 

The second set included the first 2025 return to Led Zeppelin’s “Four Sticks,” before Strings’ teased the intro to Bill Monroe’s “Southern Flavor,” before abandoning the start in favor of “Doin’ Things Right,” with an added ascent into Zeppelin on “The Ocean.” The frame ended with a return to the Lester Flatt and Mac Wiseman released “On the Southbound,” for the first time this calendar year, and a finale that consisted of “How Many Biscuits Can You Eat?” and “Roll On Buddy, Roll On.” 

Following this weekend’s display outside Chicago, Strings will resume his touring commitments on Wednesday, June 1, at the T Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo. Tickets remain on sale.

Billy Strings 

Allstate Arena –Rosemont, Ill. 

June 6, 2025 

Set I: Long Forgotten Dream, Living Like an Animal, While I’m Waiting Here1, Cabin Song, Fire Line, Reuben’s Train, Running, Show Me the Door, Reverend, Escanaba, Happy Hollow

Set II: Gild the Lily, Stratosphere Blues / I Believe in You2, Hollow Heart3, Fiddling Around, Key Signator4, 10,000 Miles From A Friend, This Old World, Bronzeback, Secrets, Nights in White Satin, Wargasm, Gone a Long Time, Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down

Enc.: In Tall Buildings5, The Train That Carried My Girl From Town, Black Mountain Rag

Notes:

  1. “Por Ti Volare” (Andrea Bocelli) tease
  2. Billy Strings on a Martin Grand J-28E, Royal Masat on a Nord Stage 3 88-Key Keyboard & Billy Failing on Masterton ML-1: Missing Link Béla Fleck Baritone Banjo
  3. “Katy Hill” (Traditional) intro jam
  4. Last Time Played 2023-08-07 | 136 show gap
  5. Last Time Played 2022-06-29 | 258 show gap

Billy Strings 

Allstate Arena –Rosemont, Ill. 

June 7, 2025 

Set I: A Robin Built a Nest on Daddy’s Grave, On the Line, Train 45, Enough to Leave, Leaning on a Travelin’ Song, The Lonesome River, Running the Route, End of the Rainbow, Lonely at the Top1, John Henry 1,2, Country Blues 3, Dos Banjos 4, Ernest T. Grass, Riding That Midnight Train

Set II: Highway Hypnosis, California Sober, Hello City Limits, All of Tomorrow, Doin’ My Time, Leaders, Planet Caravan, Tentacle Dragon (Revenge of the), Four Sticks 5, Doin’ Things Right 6,7, Dealing Despair, On the Southbound 8

Enc.: How Many Biscuits Can You Eat?, Roll On Buddy Roll On

Notes:

  1. Billy Strings solo, front of stage
  2. Last Time Played 2023-11-12 | 108 show gap
  3. Billy Strings solo on clawhammer banjo
  4. Dos Billys (Billy Strings on clawhammer banjo and Billy Failing on banjo)
  5. Last Time Played 2024-04-27 | 77 show gap
  6. “Southern Flavor” (Bill Monroe) fake-out intro
  7. “The Ocean” (Led Zeppelin) tease
  8. Last Time Played 2024-05-24 | 72 show gap

Setlists via billybase.net