Photo: A Rood

Last night, Billy Strings returned to the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. The performance served as the finale of a two-night run that began on Friday with the special guest appearance of fiddling great and bluegrass torchbearer Michael Cleveland, who joined the group for six compositions honoring the genre’s forefather and Kentucky native, Bill Monroe. Like the night prior, Cleveland returned to help the ensemble close their second set, adding heat to an expanded eight-song stretch that included a face-melting “Meet Me at The Creek” and regional odes curated especially for the occasion.

The night began with originals “I’m One of Those” and “Turmoil & Tinfoil,” before turning to Charlie Monroe’s catalog on the state-naming “Kentucky Girl.” The song’s arrival ended a 126-show gap since it was last performed on April 26, 2024, during a stop in Lexington. Strings, Billy Failing, Royal Masat, Alex Hargreaves, and Jarrod Walker pushed through “Love and Regret,” “Be Your Man,” and “Fire Line,” which sparked a traditional “Raleigh & Spencer,” forging a bond between the pair. 

The group delivered “How Many Biscuits Can You Eat?” before Strings took on “Catch and Release” without accompaniment. The bandleader continued with a solo take on the Doc Watson-associated “Georgia Buck,” making use of the clawhammer banjo, before the band returned to help their frontman close the set on John Hartford’s “All Fall Down.” The second set found the band [minus Hargreaves] gathered around a single mic for their hair-raiser “Richard Petty,” followed by Monroe’s “Uncle Pen,” which also called back Hargreaves. 

A trio of originals ensued: “Home,” “Away From The Mire,” and “Long Forgotten Dream,” before the band broke the pattern with another Watson-associated number, “The Train That Carried My Girl From Town” fused with “Black Mountain Rag.” Like the night before, Cleveland returned and added to a sweep of songs, demonstrating his masterful ability to improvise and decorate compositions with twin flair [next to fellow fiddler Hargreaves]. Night two’s sit-in sounded off another piece from Monroe’s catalog, “The Old Mountaineer,” with Cleveland making himself known on the entry before the group shifted gears in pursuit of the original “10,000 Miles From a Friend.” 

With their guest on stage and feeling the band’s excitement, the collective went with the Del McCoury Band’s “Baltimore Johnny,” followed by a cover of “Eight More Miles to Louisville,” to the thrill of the hometown crowd. The song’s arrival ended a 136-show performance gap, last played on Feb. 24, 2024. Next, they turned in George Gershwin’s classic, “Summertime,” before a dynamo delivery of “Meet Me At The Creek.” With a swelled second set, there was no time for a proper encore; instead, the band and their guest offered one final ode to Monroe and the artist’s home state, “I’m Going Back To Old Kentucky.” 

After concluding their time in Louisville, Strings and his band will take their live show to Tulsa on Wednesday, Dec. 10. Tickets remain on sale. 

Billy Strings

KFC Yum! Center – Louisville, Ky.

Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025

Set I: I’m One Of Those, Turmoil & Tinfoil, Kentucky Girl1, Love and Regret, Be Your Man, Fire Line > Raleigh & Spencer, How Many Biscuits Can You Eat?, Catch and Release2, Georgia Buck3, All Fall Down

Set II: Richard Petty4, Uncle Pen5, Home, Away From The Mire, Long Forgotten Dream, The Train That Carried My Girl From Town > Black Mountain Rag, The Old Mountaineer6, Know It All6, 10,000 Miles From A Friend6, Baltimore Johnny6,7, Eight More Miles To Louisville6,8, Summertime6, Meet Me At The Creek6, I’m Going Back To Old Kentucky6,9

Notes: 

  1. Last Time Played 2024-04-26 | 126 show gap
  2. Billy Strings solo
  3. Billy Strings solo on clawhammer banjo
  4. Full band (minus Alex) around single mic
  5. Full band around single mic
  6. w/ Michael Cleveland on fiddle
  7. Last Time Played 2025-05-20 | 55 show gap
  8. Last Time Played 2024-02-24 | 136 show gap
  9. Last Time Played 2024-07-19 | 115 show gap