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“Every Time I Come Here It Feels Like Home” – Billy Strings Receives Key To The City Of Asheville During Valentine’s Day Show
Asheville, North Carolina and Billy Strings have forged a close bond over the years – And tonight it grew even tighter.
Although he hails from Michigan and currently calls the Nashville area home, Asheville has taken on the role of a second home for Strings during his career, and it’s been a favorite stop for fans both dedicated and diehard. He plays multiple shows each year, nowadays taking place at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center arena in the heart of the city’s downtown, and fans from all over the country flood the nearby hotels, restaurants, bars, and music venues for a bluegrass-filled weekend for the ages. It’s something that I think every music fan ought to experience at some point in their lives, because there’s not much else out there like a Billy Strings run in Asheville.
Even though Asheville has rebounded miraculously from the devastating damage caused by Hurricane Helene in 2024, the surrounding region, and many of the locals, are still reeling from the tragic storm, and Strings has done quite a bit to help out the community in its aftermath.
On the final night of a four-show run in the Western North Carolina mountain town, Strings closed out a blistering hot first set with a cover of The Stanley Brothers’ bluegrass classic “How Mountain Girls Can Love” before retreating backstage for the mid-show intermission. When he and the band returned to the stage 15 or so minutes later, they had a special guest in tow.
Instead of another bluegrass musician sitting in for a few songs as you may typically see at one of Strings’ shows, it was the mayor of Asheville Esther Manheimer taking the stage with a microphone in hand. After addressing the crowd, Manheimer congratulated Strings on his 19th sold out show in Asheville since 2021, and stated that on average these shows have had an economic impact on the city of $2.5 million as fans stay in nearby hotels and eat and drink locally while in town for the shows.
She continued to mention that Strings participated in the 2024 Concert for Carolina event that raised money for Asheville and the rest of Western NC following Hurricane Helene, and thanked him for embodying what Asheville stands for and continuously fostering an environment for both locals and visitors to come together and experience all the area has to offer. With that, she presented Strings with a ceremonious key to the City of Asheville.
With his killer band behind him, and fittingly sporting a shirt that featured a cartoon image of his musical hero and NC native Doc Watson, Strings accepted the honor and gave a brief speech to the crowd.
“Thank You Asheville! I really, really love ya. And I’d say lock your doors tonight but it ain’t gonna matter ’cause I’m coming anyways,” he said jokingly, before taking a more serious tone. “Wow, what an honor. It’s not lost on me to come here and play in the beautiful state of North Carolina and in this beautiful town.
For all you folks, as you know, Doc Watson is one of my favorites. Pretty much my very favorite musician to ever live. So coming here to play music and guitar, I learned how to play guitar by listening to him. And he’s a North Carolinian. So every time I come here it kind of feels like home, you know? So I thank y’all so much for everything. Let’s boogie.”
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What a cool moment. And let me tell you, although I’m tuned in to the livestream from my couch and not lucky enough to be in the crowd tonight, I can assure you Billy and the boys are doing just that – boogieing through this second set.
Check out a couple of clips of the king of bluegrass in Asheville this weekend.
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The post “Every Time I Come Here It Feels Like Home” – Billy Strings Receives Key To The City Of Asheville During Valentine’s Day Show first appeared on Whiskey Riff.
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