On October 23, Billy Strings played his first stateside gig since submitting six performances, which took him and his band from Oslo to Dublin earlier this month. The bluegrass-informed musician’s transatlantic return assisted in shaking the dust off his binder of cover material. It loosened pages of lyrics that informed a series of returns, songs that this group has not played in enough time to catch the attention of those in attendance. The concert, which took place at The Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Ala., was split into two halves, each with 10 songs, ranging from originals to covers, but ultimately beginning with theHome featured “Long Forgotten Dream.” Pyramid Country’s “While I’m Waiting Here” merged into the parent album’s title track and even further by knocking on Ralph Stanley’s “Ridin’ That Midnight Train.” The bandleader carved mid-set space for “Love and Regret” and “Hellbender,” before returning to Bob Dylan’s “Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power)” for the first time since March 1, 2025, ending a 59-show gap.
Strings nodded to the location through the arrival of Doc Watson-released “Alabama Bound,” which emerged for the first time in 209 shows, having last been played on April 15, 2023. The tune also cemented a nomadic theme–one of trains and travel–that lingered into the second set. Before taking a break, they played “My Alice” and “Hide and Seek,” and kept originals coming during the onset of the night’s second half with “Secrets.” Traditional “Wild Bill Jones” was called back into focus for the first time since April 3, 2025, before the group moved into “Heartbeat of America,” with a twist of the Allman Brothers Band by way of a well-placed tease of “In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed.” “In the Morning Light” came ahead of the traditional “Dusty Miller,” which kicked off a sequence that included “Must Be Seven” into “Psycho” and, in time, “Meet Me at The Creek.”
Before submitting the final piece of their second set, the band worked through the Townes Van Zandt recorded “Don’t Let the Sunshine Fool Ya,” followed by “Seven Weeks in the Country.” The crowd called the band back for the concert’s encore, which consisted of the Watson released “I’m a Natural Born Gamblin’ Man” and a show-closing “Happy Hollow.” After last night’s gig, the band returns to The Orion Amphitheater tonight and tomorrow. These shows are sold out…