By now it should not be surprising when Billy Strings and his trio of stringed marksmen slice and dice their way through two sets and over two hours of blistering bluegrass. After all, Strings was just named the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Emerging Artist of the Year, as well as Guitarist of the Year. Still, it takes brave performers to stand with just four acoustic instruments, and without drums, playing music with this much subtlety and care in a Los Angeles club; albeit a renovated, 1920s Masonic Temple.
Yet, Strings and his three required no such courage. On this Friday night, they walked onstage toan immediate and collective rush of cheers from the sold-out house thirsty forevery blazing lick. From the first noteto the last, those lucky enough to have crammed into the antique meeting hallstayed locked-in tightly on the baby-faced blond, a day removed from celebratinghis 27th birthday.
Strings opened with “Taking Water,” the lead track from hislatest, Home, and was resoundinglygreeted with whoops of recognition from the packed-in supporters. The ensemble nodded to their host city forthe night, dropping in beautiful harmonies on a spirited cover of New Riders ofthe Purple Sage’s “Lonesome L.A. Cowboy,” and paused only briefly to mention arecent hang with the Bay-Area mandolin dawg David Grisman while whiskingthrough an hour-long first set that barely came up for breath. Strings even slid in a reference to the themefrom Sanford and Son amongst one ofhis extended workouts, running hypnotically intricate patterns on his acousticwith blinding speed, occasionally blending in oscillating rises and falls andoverdriven tone.
He gave equal space to his compatriots, showcasing BillyFailing on banjo (and lead vocals), Royal Masat on upright bass, and JarrodWalker on mandolin. Despite starting thesecond half alone, presenting “Love Like Me” as a solo effort, he broughtFailing on for a duet of the two Billys and their banjos. The hardwood floor became the kick-drum ascapacity crowd stomped out the beat, with Strings and Failing in fantastical fretboardflight.
With the full ensemble, the quartet took on a rendition of“Me and My Uncle,” popularized by the Grateful Dead, and noticeably popularwith this audience populated with more than a few ‘heads.’ Sprinting to the finish, Strings reworked TheBeatles’ “And Your Bird Can Sing” into an up-tempo romp, crystalline in its executionof both vocal and string harmony. Theystretched way out into the cosmos on the set-closing “Ride Me High,” thenreturned to gather around a single mic for the finale; choosing “Freedom,” alsoHome’s final cut.
It was an undoubtable triumph, and a step forward forStrings in Los Angeles, filling the historic second-floor space with anattentive audience responding to his band’s every move. It was encouraging, as well, to see the musicdelivered with such uninhibited enthusiasm; at one point the youthful guitaristswirled his long locks as wildly as any heavy metal god. Clearly, it’s good to be 27 and BillyStrings.
