Billy Strings kicks off New Year’s Eve in New Orleans with debut covers of Townes Van Zandt and Tony Rice

Photo credit: Stevo Rood

2024 is coming to an end and the New Year’s Eve residency season is now in full swing. Last night, December 29th, Billy Strings took the stage at New Orleans’ UNO Lakefront Arena, kicking off his third straight year at the venue with a thrilling series opener. Throughout the evening, the seminal bluegrass powerhouse celebrated a year of tremendous musical achievement with two sets and 24 tracks, including regular nods to the Three Nights Gambling theme and debut covers of Townes Van Zandt and Tony Rice.

Strings took the stage in The Big Easy to the tune of genre standard “If I Lose” with his faithful backing quartet of fiddler Alex Hargreaves, bassist Royal Masat, banjoist Billy Failing and mandolinist Jarrod Walker, then coalesced into the beloved 2021 original “Red Daisy.” An explosive gated cycle ensued, setting a tone of restless and dynamic experimentation for the NYE lineup as the band tore through the latest Highway Beans fan favorite “Seven Weeks in County,” “Pyramid Country,” “The Fire on My Tongue” and “Fire on the Mountain,” which arrived as a two-year bust after debuting in July 2022. The show’s first contemporary cover flipped in as the quintet belted out John Hartford’s “I’m Still Here,” and then through three more numbers—including more than 15 minutes of fearless improvisation on Jeff Austin’s “15 Steps”—before the captivating set closer to 2021’s “Secrets.”

After a short hiatus, Strings and company returned revitalized and recharged in the traditional “The Cuckoo,” the original “Slow Train” and well-traveled covers of Johnny Winter’s “Ain’t Nothing to Me” and Danny Barnes’ “Pretty Daughter.” ” Turning to his own catalog of 2019’s unforgettable “Home” and his recent romp “Happy Hollow,” the artist looked forward to a new contribution with a debut cover of “Don’t Let the Sunshine Fool Ya,” first performed by Van Zandt on his legendary 1972 album The Late Great Townes Van Zandt.

Strenge kept the covers rolling as he shuffled on to his second-ever treatment of Gordon Lightfoot’s classic “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” which served as the springboard for the second set’s triumphant jam centerpiece. After another original, the bandleader opened his debut with the traditional “Temperance Reel” made famous on Rice’s 1977 self-titled third album. Billy’s well-known reverence for Rice made the cover land as a heartfelt tribute to the late bluegrass guitar icon, which set the band and crowd ready for a fiery round of Eddie Noack’s “Psycho” and the Strings’ original “Away From the Mire” that closed. the second set and an encore of Bill Monroe’s essential “Roll On Buddy Roll On”.

The Strings return to the UNO Lakefront Arena tonight, then ring in 2025 with one final performance at the venue on December 31st. For tickets and more information on Strings’ future tour plans, visit carlystrings.com.