Billy Strings Sparks Full-Band “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)”, Blends Bill Monroe & Hendrix In Pittsburgh [Videos]

Coming off of a soulfully malicious Friday night show, Billy Strings and his band kept their momentum going for their second night in the Steel City.

It was a windy fall evening as thousands of fans once again poured into PPG Paints Arena—home of the Pittsburgh Penguins. From the second the puck dropped, Billy, Jarrod Walker, Royal Masat, Billy Failing, and Alex Hargeaves were off to the races, flexing their otherworldly coordination and thrilling showmanship.

Whether it be from dusting off a fan-favorite song or giving a nod to the city they’re in, the band will always keep you on your toes. After a wondrous rendition of “The House Carpenter”, the arena filled with cheers and howls during “Love and Regret” as Billy changed the lyric “scream of a raven” to “scream of a penguin” after a thrilling violin solo from Alex Hargeaves.

Billy continued on the attack in the second set, gliding up the arena with his stick on the ice as he launched a flurry of slap shots in the form of “Highway Hypnosis”, “Taking Water”, and Tex Williams‘ “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)” at the net—the latter making its full-band debut after appearing in setlists on Strings’ recent tour with Bryan Sutton and Royal Masat. Each jam was amplified even higher with the twirling, cascading light display masterminded by lighting director Saxton Waller.

Towards the end of the set, the band turned up the heat and dialed up a three-song cosmic nexus of “Doin’ Things Right”, Bill Monroe’s “Southern Flavor”, and Jimi Hendrix’s “Love or Confusion” to blow the roof off of the place.

Just to be sure each and every fan was properly baptized into the church of Billy Strings, after a second’s pause, the wickedly familiar lick of “Dust In a Baggie” flooded the air, sending the crowd into a frenzy of claps, high steps and do-si-dos.

As the band walked off stage, fans held lighters in the air, yelled until they couldn’t anymore, and repeatedly chanted, “One more song!” Billy, being the gracious genie he is, granted their wish, and the band strolled back on stage for some sweet picking on “Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor” and “Y’all Come”.

After the band took their bows, Billy stayed on stage for a few minutes as Pittsburgh legend Mac Miller’s “Ladders” boomed through the speakers, signing merch and graciously waving to the sea of devoted fans.

Billy Strings’ Fall Tour continues this Tuesday, November 11th, in Rochester, NY. Tickets are sold out on Ticketmaster, and they’re looking pretty steep on StubHub, but you can always try CashorTrade.

Saturday’s show is available to stream on demand via nugs. All Access subscribers can watch every remaining Billy Strings show of 2025 at no additional cost. Start streaming on nugs or sign up for a free trial here. [Editor’s Note: Live For Live Music is a nugs affiliate. Ordering your nugs subscription or purchasing a download via the links on this page helps support our coverage of the world of live music. Thank you for reading!]

Billy Strings – “Leaning on a Travelin’ Song”, “Hellbender”, “This Old World” – 11/8/25

Billy Strings – “Cocaine Blues” (Traditional) – 11/8/25
[Video: Laura Dowling]

Setlist: Billy Strings | PPG Paints Arena | Pittsburgh, PA | 11/8/25
Set 1: Leaning on a Travelin’ Song, Hellbender, This Old World, The House Carpenter (Doc Watson & Jean Ritchie), Cocaine Blues (Traditional) [1], Love and Regret, Lumpy, Beanpole & Dirt (Bad Livers), Everything’s the Same, Psycho (Eddie Noack) > Hide and Seek, Love Like Me, Dark Hollow (Bill Browning and His Echo Valley Boys)
Set 2: Red Daisy, Doin’ My Time (Jimmie Skinner), Escanaba, Highway Hypnosis, Wait a Minute (The Seldom Scene), Taking Water > Running, Show Me the Door, Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette) (Tex Williams) [2], Doin’ Things Right > Southern Flavor (Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys) > Love or Confusion (The Jimi Hendrix Experience), Dust in a Baggie
Encore: Make Me a Pallet on the Floor (Traditional), Y’all Come (Arlie Duff)
[1] Last Time Played 2024-08-03 | 103 show gap
[2] FTP w/ full band