Photo: Stevo Rood

On Tuesday evening, Billy Strings continued his Spring Tour at the First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C. The midweek entry nodded to the musician’s regional influences, North Carolina-associated artists and bluegrass stalwarts Doc Watson and Earl Scruggs. The aforementioned musicians were referenced in the night’s pick of covers, which made up some of the event’s revived material, in addition to a Pacific Northwest callback.

Last night’s performance started with “Long Forgotten Dream,” before opening space for borrowed material like “The Cuckoo,” “The Train That Carried My Girl From Town,” also released by Watson, and “Black Mountain Rag.” Sticking to a sort of system of oscillating between covers and original music, the five-piece launched a sequence consisting of “Pyramid Country” into “Must Be Seven,” ending with Jeff Austin’s “15 Steps.”

The Renewal feature “In the Morning Light” marked the group’s reentry into their own catalog, before breaking the trend with the inclusion of the traditional “Little Sadie” and a set-ending “Highway Hypnosis.” After the set break, the latter half of the show included takes on “Turmoil & Tinfoil” and “Seney Stretch,” ahead of a Watson-inspired delivery of “Miss The Mississippi And You.” 

For the band’s next move, they played through “The Fire On My Tongue” and paired it with Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys’ “Ridin’ That Midnight Train.” “Fire Line” and “Running The Route” marked a welcome return to original songs ahead of the traditional and Watson-associated “Blue Ridge Mountain Blues,” which was a light bust-out, having previously been played on October 4, 2024, ending a 121-show gap. 

Highway Prayers track “In The Clear” was inserted ahead of the concert’s final revived number: Seattle’s own Alice and Chains’ “Nutshell,” played for the first time since April 5, 2025, and closing a 87-show window in deliveries. The previous song merged with “Wargasm,” ahead of the show’s final number and subsequent nod to regional figureheads like the Watsons. 

Following last night’s show in North Carolina, Strings will pull into the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va., on April 17 and 18. Tickets remain on sale. 

Billy Strings 

First Horizon Coliseum – Greensboro, N.C.

April 14, 2026 

Set I: Long Forgotten Dream > The Cuckoo, The Train That Carried My Girl From Town > Black Mountain Rag, Pyramid Country > Must Be Seven > 15 Steps, In The Morning Light, Little Sadie, Highway Hypnosis

Set II: Turmoil & Tinfoil, Seney Stretch, Miss The Mississippi And You, The Fire On My Tongue > Ridin’ That Midnight Train, Fire Line, Running The Route, Blue Ridge Mountain Blues1, In the Clear Nutshell2 > Wargasm, Hold That Woodpile Down

Setlist notes:

  1. Last Time Played 2024-10-04 | 121 show gap
  2. Last Time Played 2025-04-05 | 87 show gap