Something about that sound at Red Rocks Amphitheater hits differently.
In early May, Billy Strings took to the Colorado stage for two nights of bluegrass magic.
Strings walks out onto the stage with his band, and they start the set huddled around a singular microphone. They kick off the show’s first half with phenomenal picking, filled with covers from The Osborne Brothers, The Stanley Brothers, and traditional bluegrass songs.
After covering “If Your Hair’s Too Long (There Is Sin In Your Heart),” they take a step back to pick up the set and kick off the full band portion with a cover of Johnny Nash’s classic, “I Can See Clearly Now.” The crowd cheers excitedly when they realize what the cover is.
After that tune, Strings dives into his discography with phenomenal performances of “Red Daisy,” “It Must Be Seven,” and the fan favorite, “Dust In a Baggie.”
The whole time to music hardly stops, and he flows seamlessly from one song to another.
Strings returns for the second set, opening up with “Slow Train” from his 2016 self-titled EP. After that tune, he has fun with the crowd, yelling into the mic for a little callback game before driving into “Meet Me At The Creek.”
He wraps up the show with rocking versions of “Turmoil & Tinfoil” and closes with a cover of Ralph Stanley’s “Katy Daily.”
The crowd is all still on their feet when the band leaves the stage, cheering for more.
Even after three hours of performing, Billy Strings and the band come back out for one more song. As they huddle around the microphone like they started the show, they perform “Freedom.”
A perfect ending to the night, bringing the sound back to the acoustic melodies with heavy bluegrass harmonies.
There is no other way to describe this set other than:
What. A. Damn. Good. Show.
