Billy Strings, photo by Stevo Rood
Billy Strings returned to the stage on Friday night to resume his residency in Asheville, N.C. After setting off the second stop on his Winter Tour with engagements on Tuesday and Wednesday, and unveiling his inaugural Ionia Freak Fair on Thursday, the Strings’ third show at ExploreAsheville.com Arena featured a few unexpected tracks, one of which recognized the city’s folk history.
Strings commenced his stand on Friday night with the five-year fan-favorite “The Fire on My Tongue,” bridged deftly into 2026’s first treatment of “Bronzeback.” As has become a staple of his routing through the Tar Heel State, the bluegrass firebrand honored the enduring influence of North Carolina native Doc Watson with a fistful of associated covers, beginning with the classic “Red Rocking Chair.” Other Watson homages in the first set rolled in with “Shady Grove,” “The Cuckoo” and a medley of “The Train That Carried My Girl From Town” and “Black Mountain Rag,” scattered among essential originals like “My Alice” and “Living Like An Animal” before a set-closer of “Raleigh & Spencer.”…