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Bluegrass revival was never so in touch with its roots as the moment when Billy Strings took center stage. The International Bluegrass Music Association’s bluegrass performer of the year and winner of the Bluegrass Album of the Year at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards, Billy Strings has taken the world of bluegrass by storm. His nearly sold out fall and winter tours back up that claim. But don’t let the bluegrass accolades fool you: Billy Strings doesn’t give an old-fashioned country-sounding performance. Distortion pedals, strobe and laser lights, and autotuned screams give the show a progressive metal edge that would shock old-time bluegrass pickers. Old-timers can still find an appreciation for Strings’ incredibly precise and breakneck speed while flat picking. The combination of technical skill and genre-bending sound make his show an unforgettable exhibition of live music making.
Billy gave Boston a unique two-set performance early last December at the Wang Theatre in downtown Boston. No two concerts are the same when Billy Strings writes the setlist. Those in the Boston crowd were pleased to hear city shoutouts in “Boston Boy” and “Big Ball in Boston” as well as Spotify streaming favorites “Peggy-O” and “Dust In a Baggie.”
It was easy to forget which song was playing while entranced by the dynamic relationship between Billy Failing’s banjo strings and Jarrod Walker’s mandolin, anchored by Royal Masat’s bassline and Billy Strings’ powerful riffs. The beauty of Billy Strings’ show is that the songs are merely vessels for the overflow of music created on stage. The versions of songs you hear on Jimmy Kimmel are not the versions you hear live. 20-minute solo sessions where every member of the group gets a piece of the song are common. After a mind-blowing guitar solo that returned hypnotically, to dizzying riffs as it built up with delay, reverb, and distortion, one could only be shocked when Billy returned to the chorus of “Running the Route.”
The improvised and organic nature of the show made movement challenging. Each member of the band stood, focused exclusively on their highly technical playing. A lack of percussive instruments made sound mixing vital to recreate the rhythm of drums and keep the integrity of each instrument. Strings’ audio team shone. Rarely, in a concert that feels like a rock show, are individual instruments heard so clearly. Throughout the show Strings could be seen asking for adjustments with hand signals to the booth. The attention to sound detail was raw and effective, setting the show apart from others.
An emphasis on sound and musical technicality, however, was traded off for absurd lighting. The idea, admittedly, was a good one. Spotlights of all shapes, sizes, and colors accompanied by strobes were fantastic elements. But instead of embellishing the music and emphasizing emotional turning points in the frequent solos. The lights were chaotic, asynchronous, and jarring compared to the intricate melodies and harmonies emanating from the performers. There were moments when everything clicked, especially when the stage was backlit with red and blue during “Taking Water.” But the lighting mostly got in the way of the performance.
Regardless of the headaches the light show may have induced, the performance was an incredible exhibition of technical skill and stamina that was captivating from start to finish. Billy Strings stands in the face of a broadly digitized music industry and manufactures songs on stage in live and improvised glory.
—Staff writer Jacob R. Jimenez can be reached at jacob.jimenez@thecrimson.com.
