Yesterday Billy Strings continued his stretch of West Coast dates at the Oakland Arena. This was the second of two nights at the venue. It was also a special evening as October 3 is Strings’ 34rd birthday.

The Friday night gig in Oakland offered some memorable moments. Following the “In The Clear” opener, the version of “Turmoil and Tinfoil” extended for more than 20 minutes. The Beatles’ “I’ll Cry Instead,” which the group performs only infrequently, featured Royal Masat on vocals, as it has done ever since its debut on 7/22/23. A bit later, Jarrod Walker sang his original “Nighthawk,” which emerged from “Malfunction Junction.” Billy Failing had a turn in the second set during his “So Many Miles” which led into “Dealing Despair.” At the close of the evening, the band covered Peter Rowan’s “Midnight Moonlight” for the first time since 9/27/24, a 150 show gap, before wrapping things up with an energetic take on the traditional “Sally Goodin’.”

Strings’ birthday show opened with an 18 minute sequence that paired versions of “Freeborn Man” and “Secrets.” Later in the set, Strings acknowledged, “It’s my birthday…and I’m 34 years old. I’m a big boy now..halfway to 68. Well, I wouldn’t rather be anywhere else than right here with all of you folks playing music tonight in this beautiful place where lots of legendary shit has gone down. And so we’re gonna to try to do our part to add to that. We’re gonna have a dear, dear friend of mine who is an absolute fucking legend and one of the best people I know and one of funkiest dudes ever, would you please make welcome Les Claypool.”

Claypool walked out and joked, “I thought you were talking about Bootsy Collins. I thought you was bringing Bootsy out!” Then he described vising Strings in Nashville and going for ride in his ’72 green Chevelle, which he said made him “a tad nervous.” After which the famed bassist indicated, “So I figured for your birthday we’d take an old tune of mine and we’re gonna name after you for your birthday.”

At which point they performed “Jerry Was A Race Car Driver” recast as “Billy Was A Race Car Driver.” Claypool remained for “Over The Falls” and “All Fall Down,” which closed the set.

The second set then opened with the Bob Weir/John Barlow classic “Cassidy,” which segued into Strings’ “Thirst Mutilator” and Bill Monroe’s “On and On.” The evening later closed with a lengthy sequence that began with “Meet Me At The Creek” then moved into “Pyramid Country,” “Dusty Miller” and “Must Be Seven” before returning to “Meet Me At The Creek.”

The Claypool collabs appear below. Strings and his group will next perform in Eugene on Tuesday.