Photo Jesse Faatz Photography via Billy Strings’ Facebook

John Mailander sat in with Billy Strings and his band at Manchester, TN’s Great Stage Park last night. The Nashville-based fiddler, who has long collaborated with Strings and also performs with Bruce Hornsby’s Noisemakers and his own Forecast, augmented the quartet throughout their entire show. The event took place on the site of the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival as part of their Concerts on the Farm series. Though the land has most famously hosted Bonnaroo since 2002, it also provided the backdrop for Itchycoo Park in 1999 and Exit 111 in 2019.

The socially distanced event opened with a reference to the inclement weather, The Stanley Brothers’ “It’s Raining Here This Morning.” From there, the five musicians debuted their take on “West Dakota Rose,” a Chris Henry and The Hardcore Grass tune they previewed on social media earlier in the week; they also reprised the number at the end of the night. Nodding to some of Bonnaroo’s original core bands, Strings also offered his versions of Widespread Panic’s “All Time Low” and Bob Weir’s “Cassidy.”

Strings will perform at Schaumburg, IL’s Wintrust Field on June 11.