Image via Nugs
Last night in Roanoke, VA Billy Strings finally opened his summer tour. Strings and his group had been off the road since mid-April when he in broke his leg after leaving the stage during the group’s April 18 performance at Charlottesville’s John Paul Jones Arena. As he said at the time, “Well, I can’t say y’all didn’t warn me about screwing around on my skateboard. Saturday night, I walked off stage right before the encore. I was all zazzed up from a really fun show. I grabbed my board and tried to do a trick I’ve done a million times (back 180), landed awkwardly and broke my leg. I heard it snap over the screaming crowd. It sounded like a damn 2×4.”
Strings has since guested with Trey Anastasio, Primus and Willie Nelson but last night’s show at the Berglund Center marked his quintet’s first full-on two-set performance since the accident. The guitarist sat on a stool for a portion of the set but mostly was up and ambulatory. The group opened with an 18-minute version of Strings original “Turmoil & Tinfoil” affirming that the band was back and in fine form. Another highlight during the 70-minute opening frame was a version of Jarrod Walker’s “Nighthawk,” the title track to Walker’s album, which Strings and company had previously performed on 4/8/26 ahead of the record’s release. The set ended with a spirited take on Jerry Reed’s “Likes Of Me” (a song often associated with Tony Rice) which led into an extended version of Strings’ “Pyramid Country” followed by “Know It All.”…