Billy Strings-ICC Sydney-17 July 2025
Amazeballs
Billy Strings carries on the bluegrass tradition. The band is composed of the usual bluegrass quintet lineup, featuring fiddle, banjo, bass, mandolin, and guitar. There are bluegrass covers from The Stanley Brothers and Doc Watson.
There is so much more. You can call them a bluegrass band, but they put a spin and a pedal on many things. Billy gets a much greater variety of sounds out of his Martin Acoustic than Heinz 57.
When you can add a sparkle of King Gizzard And The Wizard Lizard, whip up a Pink Floyd Cover, and perform each night for three plus hours, you are moving very far away from the traditional setup around one microphone.
Alex Hargreaves is going to be one of the fiddle greats of the 21st Century, according to bluegrass godfather David Grisman. Royal Masat on bass has played with Bela Fleck and others, and Jarrod Walker on mandolin is a special treat. Berklee Music School graduate, Billy Failing, is simply stunning on banjo. He has his Earl Scruggs licks and so much more.
There are so many superlatives for the guitar playing of Strings. At the age of 32 it is hard to imagine where his fingers and the road will take him. As a good friend said to me while we listened and bopped, “What does he do now? He can’t get any better?”
So true. He played 3 nights in Australia on this tour and did not repeat a song. This is standard practice on his tours.
The sound was superlative, and you could follow any instrument even when they were not soloing. Strings gives each band member plenty of time to show off their fabulous skills. With a 1/2 hour break between the two sets, all 5 of them could rest their weary fingers.
I hope he sticks to the bluegrass stage for a lifetime, but that he occasionally dips his hand into some electric rock and roll craziness. As his name states, he can play anything with strings. Check out this video below of him doing some Dead with Carlos Santana and others.
Until next time, keep on picking, Mr. Strings.
