When we retired 2020, thought was we'd make occasional out of town trips for a few days here and there, often centered around hearing/seeing music acts we've wanted to catch. Blink and it's nearly 6 years later and we've scarcely scratched the surface. However, finally we headed out - down to Greensboro NC to see one of our music "must see" artists, Billy Strings. To say he's "bluegrass" is to do a gross disservice to the creativity and, frankly, monster he's building. Selling out arenas all over the place, adoring fans of no specific age demographic, purple haze.
For the uninitiated, I doubt there are many artists alive who can shred a guitar like Billy. Not bad for growing up in a trailer in Michigan. Yes, he honors his roots - He did several Doc Watson tunes (we WERE in NC after all), even covered Alice in Chains "Nutshell". In the hotel bar before the show (Greensboro Coliseum) there were quite a few folks wearing Dead shirts. We didn't realize to what extent he can take a song and turn it into an extended jam - "jamgrass". My wife is not into the extended instrumentals, though I'm cool with it. In fact, I really like to stream jams while fishing on a warm day. Very groove-a-licious.
For those who want a more entry level Billy Strings experience, Dust in a Baggie is a very accessible and fun tune.
