Lord of The Strings: Bluegrass star Billy Strings blazes and amazes in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH ― Just when you think he can't strum his guitar any faster, Billy Strings digs deeper within and finds an even faster gear.

Strings' supersonic yet smooth shredding electrified Tuesday's opening night of his two-night run at the Petersen Events Center.

There was no opening act, and, of course, no drummer − Strings and his band being bluegrass, and all.

Equally absent were any on-stage guitar techs, as Strings strummed the same acoustic guitar the whole time, perched center stage with Jarrod Walker (mandolin), Royal Masat (upright bass) to his right; Billy Failing (banjo) and Alex Hargreaves (fiddle) to his left, all of whom stuck to their same go-to instrument throughout the evening, too.

Strings' bandmates kept pace with his fleet and nimble picking, getting solo time that earned ripples of applause from a jam-band-loving audience numbering many in Grateful Dead-ish attire and multi-hued, twinkling light headbands.

Fans trusted the video screen announcements that alerted when 30-, 15- and five minutes remained until showtime, with Strings and Co. emerging around 8:01 p.m., hitting the stage running with the free-flowing "Done Gone" and "Hello City Limits," a 1960s Kentucky bluegrass tune about starting anew in a big city.

The sound shifted to a darker, slower mode and grew a bit psychedelic as the band stretched out and jammed on "Fire Line."

Around 20 minutes in, while strumming and peering into the darkened crowd, Strings heard or felt something so satisfying that it made him crack his first conspicuous smile of the night (though many more would follow). He meandered over to a small lower platform attached to a corner of the stage while strumming "I'm Still Here," which had a slower tempo and quieter dynamics but still dexterous finger-picking.

At 36 minutes came the first true break in the music, with a warm "thank you" greeting from the 31-year-old Grammy Award winner.

"Stone Walls and Steel Bars," a 1960s prison lament by The Stanley Brothers, brought an enticing Western swing feel.

The original "Away from The Mire," with a slower, less-textured start, illustrated the strength and conviction of Strings' vocals. As a singer, he's underrated.

By the song's end, his fingers were a blur of motion again, with three green-ish toned video screens providing closeups for anyone trying to figure out how he strums so swiftly.

The set one closer, "All Fall Down," included a banjo romp by Failing that earned an audience cheer as the scent of weed asserted itself.

After a 25-minute break, the Strings gang picked up where they left off, starting with "Takin' a Slow Train" boosted by Failing's fine harmonizing.

"While I'm Waiting Here," a powerfully written original about remorse and woe, seamlessly flowed into "Meet Me at The Creek," where at some point, a euphoric Strings did a hair toss, Walker shredded on mandolin, then Hargreaves took his fiddle solo to heights that earned mid-song cheers. Fans roared even louder with approval, and many who were sitting rose to their feet, as Strings' blazing guitar mastery brought the song to a rousing finish.

Those first three songs of the second set lasted an invigorating 28 minutes.

Strings paid respect to the architects once more with Roy Acuff's 1940 song "The Streamlined Cannonball."

After "My Alice," Strings stepped out for the first time onto a short riser that led to the edge of the crowd, where he handed one of his just-used guitar picks to a concertgoer.

That pick had to be red-hot from friction.

Strings did a two-step dance clicking the side of his feet together as the bluegrass delights kept a-coming, such as "Enough to Leave" and "Dealing Despair."

The sweet symphony of stringed instruments powered an instrumental new song, "Escanaba," named for the far north town from Strings' native Michigan.

Valuing improvisational and explorative music over commercialism, Strings didn't play his 2023 radio single "California Sober," which his songwriting partner, Willie Nelson, sang this summer at The Pavilion at Star Lake.

Strings fans knew Wednesday's second night of shows at the Petersen Events Center would feature an utterly different batch of tunes, performed by a marvelous musician infusing bluegrass with exciting and fresh energy.

Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at stady@timesonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Lord of The Strings: Bluegrass star Billy Strings blazes in Pittsburgh