The personality and talent that is William Apostol, also known as the illustrious Billy Strings, is nothing short of striking, surprising, and one hell of a good time. From winning Grammy Awards to inciting a huge fanbase in a relatively short amount of time, this man known for as much humility as he is talent continues to wow audiences as well as performers alike and seems to continuously be on the move upward towards the next thing that suits his fancy, all the while chasing his love for music alongside giving back to the world.

For his latest tour, the man known for all things stringed has decided to stretch himself even further and launch an arena tour. That’s right, a five-piece bluegrass band with no drums hitting capacities of 15,000 people or more for multiple nights in a handful of cities. This venture is not only one that few bluegrass performers would dare but even fewer managers would concede as to being a smart business move. Although his backyard in Nashville would seem to be the obvious choice to start such an undertaking, January had Billy and his band of brothers make Denver ground zero to roll the dice on their latest acoustic experiment.

Touting a 21,000-person capacity, when the news came down that Ball Arena would kick off the tour, the largest venue of the four major cities announced, many wondered if Mr. Strings had the kind of pull for not one, nor two, but a three-night run. Although Colorado is famous for being a live music mecca as well as embracing bluegrass with open arms for decades, the enormity of this venue must have had the accountants shuddering while fans from across the country salivated about seeing this rising star on his first epic scale tour in a town that welcomes the celebration of live music, especially when Billy is involved.

Arriving at the venue on an unseasonably warm Friday afternoon for night one, it was clear that the usual suspects were playing their roles as the community that is part of this music’s travelling carnival life. With nearly 400 folks occupying camping chairs, standing, or walking the line, most spoke of pulling double duty: patiently waiting to get in for early merchandise while also improving their chances on the floor to obtain the rail or secure enough dancing room for themselves and their absent loved ones. The vibe, as comforting as the sunny start to the weekend, could be seen in every smile, heard in every conversation, and felt in every hug delivered by friend and stranger alike and extended from every age and every walk of life in those hours before showtime.

Now the concept of community is often self-proclaimed by many musical patrons, with kindness and positivity being at the cornerstone of the audience’s participation and the Billy Strings’ universe is certainly no different. It is not uncommon to see the best come out in the individuals who follow this orbit including the maestro himself, especially when tragedy strikes. Certainly a noticeable demonstration was seen in Denver, the first gathering of the BMFS fanbase since the New Year’s Eve shows in New Orleans. National news was made when a number of people were injured and killed on January 1st when a person intentionally drove into a crowd on Bourbon Street. One of these people was in fact a fan who was in town with his younger brother to celebrate the new year by taking his sibling to his first Billy show. His name is Drew Dauphin.

At the time, Billy posted a statement of shock and sadness at the disregard for humanity in the wake of such a celebratory time globally as well as following the magic made on his stage in The Big Easy. It would only be a short time later that the relevance would hit closer to home when Drew’s connection to the scene would be revealed. In the four weeks leading up to the Denver shows, a number of people reached out to the Dauphin family to offer support, emotionally and financially, and with The Mile High City gigs being the first opportunity to get others involved, a number of factions worked the crowd with QR codes and websites providing avenues for others to give back. Whether one made a donation or not, the participants thanked everyone they came into contact with, sharing a smile and a sincerity that showed the best of humankind: selflessness and understanding. Of note, hosts Kodi Nottingham and Shay Woods of the podcast “What’s The Reason For This?” redirected their non-profit Melodies of Relief originally created to aid victims of Hurricane Helene and encouraged fans and sponsors to donate funds as well as goods to be auctioned off. One such fan was Billy himself, who donated five personal items, showing himself once again to be the person he touts as well as the soul many believe him to be. In the end, Melodies of Relief was able to raise more than $25,000 for the Dauphin family in their time of need.

As the sun set behind The Rocky Mountains, the line outside The Ball in downtown Denver continued to grow and by the time doors opened at 6:30, all entrances were abuzz with delight for what was about to play out. Not only would Friday’s show be the largest indoor venue the band would have played to date and their first return to the Centennial State since September, but it was also touted as a 360-degree show with seats sold in most every section, including behind the stage. With a slew of “firsts” on the table, the electricity was palpable as thousands of excited souls brought their energy under one roof where there was no escape from the anticipatory vibe that precedes any Billy Strings show but even more so in the setting of nearly 20,000 individuals ready to get their weekend started.

Entering the pit, the excitement was apparent on the faces of those who had made it to the rail for night one. Amongst the apparent jubilation of anticipation, those front and center feeling like they had won the golden ticket, a number of ticket holders stood apart as they were dressed in ball gowns and attire that reflected a formal affair. Commenting on the dapper display of those dressed to the nines, one participant by the name of Brooke cited that each night had a theme and for night one the theme was Fabulous Friday. Although no one could recall where they had seen the post or reference, there were certainly enough individual camps of the classy clad that it was certainly something that had been shared within the fanbase community.

With the standard countdown to “fuzzy rainbows” revving up the room intermittently, panning the arena, it was clear that seats were filling in and that the impossibility of a single bluegrass entity pulling enough people to sell The Ball out was reaching the point of potential and realization. By the time the lights dimmed, the space was comfortably full and when the house went dark, the overwhelming roar that emanated from every shadowy corner was simultaneously unsettling and comforting.

As Alex Hargreaves, Billy Failing, Billy Strings, Royal Masat, and Jarrod Walker walked to their respective positions across the stage, the voracious gathering welcomed these gentlemen with a humbling and deafening call of celebration that not only saluted the band’s success but also let these players know that they were prepared for any and everything they had to offer. Stepping to the microphone with a singular, emphatically drawn out “Howwwwddddddddyyyyy!” Billy whipped the horde into even more of a frenetic state than their welcoming presentation had already displayed. Pausing only for a moment, the band wasted no time getting to work and fired up night one with the first ever set opening version of “Wargasm”. At nearly eight minutes, this watery tune of the conflicted soul questioning the choice of strife over love got everyone dancing and contained strong solos from Failing and Strings. Although many wondered how the sound would carry in the giant vault that is Ball Arena, aside from a bumpy start that lasted only a minute or two, sound engineer Andy Lytle wielded his auditory wizardry quickly and efficiently and got everything dialed in, putting to rest any question of his capability or the quality that would be The Ball Experience.

Following the opener’s final notes, the band turned their focus to foot pedals and tuning in preparation for the next number as the audience flooded the room with applause. What was remarkable was that the crowd kept going past the standard length of revelry and the persistence finally grabbed Billy’s attention, bringing him out from behind his mic stand. Scanning the room, the applause gathered even more steam, drawing first a smile from the frontman and then infectiously from each of the other banded brothers. At the apex, Billy, wide-eyed and beaming, threw back his head and laughed into the air, letting loose the joy that was flowing through him from the tens of thousands showering that stage with love.

Getting back to business, Billy directed the attention to Walker on the mandolin to start up “The Lonesome River” by The Stanley Brothers. Relatively speaking, this cover has been a bit of a rarity over the last year with only three slots including Denver in over fifty shows. With Walker and Failing backing on vocals, the three harmonized in a way that came through with conviction and solidarity, delivering on the good Stanley name.

Pausing for a moment to address the crowd, Billy opened up:

Thank you folks. Thank you so much for coming out tonight to hear some music. We’re so glad to be here to play for you. I was just reminiscing about a good friend of mine… sent me a picture this morning of myself at Twisted Pine Brewing Company back in like 2014. I think that was one of my first gigs out here in Colorado, eleven years ago…. and there has been a hell of a lot of good ones since so thank you folks out here for always being so welcoming. We are so glad to be here to play for you guys for the next few nights. We are going to try our best to kick ass. So have a good time. Here’s a little uh…..

Without finishing his sentence, the short and sweet bang of Jerry Reed’s “Likes of Me” was up next. A little over two minutes, the Reed cover broke into Billy’s own throwdown hoedown turned echoing soundscape “Pyramid Country” which pulled everyone from the traditional into the transcendental. The reverberating expanding space entranced the room for more than four minutes and took many on a ride inwards as the echo of Billy’s strings morphed and shifted against the space angles of Hargreaves’ fiddle, Masat solidifying the root and keeping The Ball from spinning off into the atmosphere. Swinging wide out into orbit, Failing’s banjo roll brought everyone back for an energetic landing and put wheels to the ground with “Know It All”. From “Likes of Me” through “Know It All”, the three-piece segue hit at seventeen minutes of a rollicking good time.

With a pause but like a refreshing breath of reflection, the band moved steadily into the lovely ballad “Show Me The Door”. This one, a Jarrod Walker original, melted like butter and showed the more sensitive side of the group. Hargreaves’ playing matched the yearn of the lyrics and the overall body made everyone want to pull their person in a little closer for some good ol’ fashioned affection.

With a woo and a simple thanks, Billy addressed the crowd again:

This is really trippy for us. This is probably the most people we have ever played for inside of a building…. and to me in 2025 or whenever the hell it is, it’s crazy that uh…I just think it is so beautiful that this many people are interested in bluegrass music. Like I said earlier man, Colorado has always been real good to us. You guys, every time I walk out on stage out here it’s just like, “OK!!!!!!” So keep that energy up and instead of what is on the setlist right now, we are going to do a little EMD.

Under a wave of appreciation, David Grisman’s instrumental “EMD” got the rapid-fire treatment. As stated by Billy, this was no planned jaunt and would mark only the twelfth time this Dawg piece would have been played since its introduction in 2022 and the first time since April of 2024. Obviously a mandolin tune at its heart, with the closing strum, Billy welcomed everyone to recognize Jarrod Walker’s talent in filling the very large shoes of Grisman.

Keeping things swinging on the upbeat, “Doin’ Things Right” certainly got the treatment. More rocker than bluegrass, this one timed out at thirteen and a half minutes and was slayed with psychedelia, again defying the typical expectations of the convergence of the instruments on stage and proving that it ain't the instrument but the player that makes the music. Masat’s standout moments showed what a powerhouse he is as everyone else dropped back so he could rip it up on the big ol’ bass fiddle. Eight minutes in the music warped and flexed under the direction of these human vessels and seemed more like celestial speak than meter. After reaching cosmic levels, the band dialed in the head again out of nowhere and hit the ending with a singular precision that was nothing short of an incredible unified effort. At the close, the audience let out a bellow that made it feel like a set closer, but the evening and the band had so much more in store for set one.

Sweating and smiling, Billy did another crowd check:

Hell yeah! How you folks doing? Well that was fun. We’re getting a little loosened up with you. Are you getting a little loosened up too? That was great!

Getting back to work, yet another Turmoil & Tinfoil original “Living Like an Animal” was a relative rarity as well, not having hit a setlist since May of last year. With an eerie tone, this one is offsetting and worked well into the subsequent juxtaposed counterpart “New Country Blues”, which pulled the vibe back to celebration and spitfire picking. This cover stayed true to the Emmitt-Nershi Band and rang with the voices of its originators.

To close out the set, a one-two, original-cover punch of “On The Line” paired with “Ruby” left the crowd perspiring and spent as these two high-octane tunes had everyone dancing and giving all they had to keep up with the band. It was certainly bluegrass at its finest and was a great way to send everyone to the watercooler to discuss the first part of this opening night.

Keeping the intermission short, the band came back to the stage all smiles and ready to deliver on their good names. Choosing the title track of Bill Emerson’s 1987 bluegrass release Home of the Red Fox, the five friends took this two-and-a-half-minute studio instrumental and stretched it into a thirteen-minute behemoth. Tuned and ready to go, the opening minutes contained a shifting soundscape of harmonics and lilting melodies wrapping the room in a warm aural comfort that had many swaying in motion and soaking up the visceral recharge. From the swirl, the structure arose three minutes in and Failing rang out high and clear, laying out the repeating phrase as Strings darted in and around until the heart of the tune broke loose and the room was back in bluegrass country. The traditional dynamic lasted for minutes before returning to the weird. Effect-laden and brain scrambling, the final five minutes had some great improvisation and closed with a great climb that landed in another rarity “How Mountain Girls Can Love”. Played only eight times in the last two years and not since July of 2024, this Stanley Brothers classic played by many in the bluegrass game, especially in Colorado, checked all the boxes and was just as sweet as the subject matter.

The biggest bustout of the setlist came in with a cover of The Beatles’ “Rocky Raccoon”. Not played since 2023 and then only once for that year, this one elicited a substantial response from the crowd, certainly in part due to its infrequency, but more than likely because of the familiarity. The tune was well played and Billy put his twist on the lyrical delivery. This version would be the latest of the twenty renditions played since 2018.

The first track of the night from Strings’ latest studio creation Highway Prayers was the beautiful instrumental “Escanaba”. Vibing with a latin-jazz infused progressive bluegrass dynamic, this one certainly rings with the spirits of many of the new grass players that melded multiple genres and contributed to the global perspective of these dynamic players and their broadened capabilities. Although this one played out just over five minutes, it is certainly a tune that many would agree should be stretched out and bent.

Lining up just like the album tracklist, “Gild the Lily” came up next. With its embracing lyrics and sweet hook, this one received a laudable recognition with Strings’ filing in behind Masat’s opening bass line. It didn’t take long for those familiar with the tune to start singing along and this one certainly had the place swooning and feeling emotional in the moment. When the interlude hit, Hargreaves pulled at that fiddle like the thousands of heart strings surrounding him, propagating so many smiles and some tears at his outpouring. Billy followed suit and doled out an emotive solo that was bluesy, sincere, and hit a climax that was nothing less than liberating. Coming in at ten minutes, when the final notes trailed off, the crowd belted out with so much soul-filling appreciation, Billy just paused and looked around the room. It was easy to see in his eyes the overwhelming aspect of this moment where verse and tone had not only impacted his own visceral experience but that of the entire room and now he was being leveled by the demonstration that extended for nearly half a minute.

With a deep breath and bringing it back to the business side of things, Billy fired up the canon staple “Meet Me at The Creek”. Hitting twenty-one minutes from start to finish, this one always has the promise of exploration and this version did not disappoint. Walker got the first turn at the rudder and steered the ship straight into open water. Hargreaves seamlessly moved into the lead and bent that bow with speed and precision. Moving into unsettled terrain with a minor refrain, the wheels started coming off the wagon at about eight minutes in and the energy shifted from fire to eerie and dark. With Billy at the helm, line after line of disturbed patterns and effect had the whole room holding on and loving every minute of the chaotic ride. Like any good storm of uncertainty, the sun eventually broke through the clouds and the crowd was treated to some nice uplifting fingerwork by Strings as the rest of the band sat back and let the spirit speak through the man front and center. As expected, this would last only a couple of minutes before the unified force that is this band would embark on the journey once more. Before returning to the muse of the off-kilter and strange, the members ran through multiple measures of “Raiders March” from the Indiana Jones movies just for the hell of it. The final run for the end was nothing short of lightning in a Ball, electricity and exhilaration spilling out from every point of that stage and charging every ear in the room until finally the band returned to the lyrics and so many raised their hands to the rafters in recognitional revival.

The band paused for only a moment to bring their instruments back online and in tune and spotlighting Hargreaves, the quintet kept it all going with the traditional Bill Monroe tune “Ashland Breakdown”. Although Alex got it going, everyone had a turn leading this instrumental. From a statistical standpoint, this one would also be considered a rare bird having only been performed twice in 2024 and only thirteen times since 2022.

Sharing another one from Highway Prayers, “My Alice” was a soft transition from the breakneck speed of the preceding breakdown. Billy sang this with that authentic voice that defines so many moving moments of bluegrass ballads and keeping true with that feature, this one is the tale of the common man in fear of losing his love to the power of the wealthy man from times past where power extended far past industry. Employed by the leering eye, the author plots the day when folly might meet with his boss and end his torment, a crossroad created by his own hand.

At the end of the homicidal song of love’s preservation, Billy engaged the audience once again:

Like I said before, thank you so much for coming out to hear some music and we are… soooo nervous to be here. But we are starting to get a little settled in. We are looking forward to two more nights of this right here at The Ball. Having a ball at The Ball! It makes sense. So thank you all so much for coming out.

Following band intros and the expected receptive raucous applause for each of the fine-fingered gentlemen, the band got to closing out the evening with what would be the encore slot, but feeling good and aware of the clock, remained on stage rather than exit to deliver every ounce of goodness to the feverish crowd who still had enough energy to go for another set. With that in mind, “Fire On My Tongue” set the place ablaze once again and showed that although it is Billy’s name on the sign out front, everyone in this group not only gets a chance to shine but deserves each and every one of the places they occupy. With a short transition, the energy stayed high as the band moved into “Ole Slew Foot”. These two tunes are linked regularly and because of that familiarity, many in the crowd were singing right along with Billy and The Band.

With time for one more, Billy sent the audience out with one final message:

Thank you folks so very much. We just got time for one more number for you all tonight and then we will be seeing you tomorrow night hopefully. But if not, well whether you are coming tomorrow or not, keep your stick on the ice, don’t let your meat loaf, watch your top knot, keep your shiny side up, faint in bed by midnight, and come on home. We love the hell out of each and every one of you. Thank you.

Going out on one final high note, pulses got racing with the fast tempo of Dylan’s “Drifter’s Escape” as the final tune and it appeared that the crowd wasn’t the only one feeling like the night needed more before coming to an end. A minute into the intro, Billy, smiling and feeling it, belts out, “Yeah, we are going to jam a little bit and then make our escape” before finally succumbing to the impending clock and getting to the delivery. Hitting at four minutes with some great interplay, this final number sounded as fresh and danceable as any other number of the night and when it was all said and done, everyone walked away from that stage smiling at yet another incredible performance.

Looking back over the evening, night one of The Ball kicked off with a bang. From impeccable sound to a setlist full of surprises to a band who, in spite of their comments of being nervous, overwhelmed or trying to get settled in, came off as well-rehearsed and locked in. This premier evening showed that not only could this group put the asses in the seats but could get them out as well to dance tirelessly to the stringed experience that is Billy and his Music Marauders. This was no warm-up night and watching the faces of the performers, it was easy to see that they were having an exceptional time and experiencing multiple “I can’t believe this” moments as they took in the size of the audience as well as the acknowledgment of each other. For the fans, the show was fire enough that it appeared by the end that much of the populace stayed from start to finish and listening to comments through the halls and exits and even to the outdoors, this one was yet another satisfying musical adventure that would certainly keep them coming back for more.