A herd of ‘Billy Goats’ has descended on Asheville, as bluegrass artist Billy Strings kicked off the first of six shows at Harrah’s Cherokee Center on Thursday evening.
Strings is known for genre-bending bluegrass tunes that beckon thousands of fans, some who refer to themselves as ‘Billy Goats.’ His shows run this weekend, Feb. 7-9, and Feb. 13-15
Ahead of Thursday’s show, a flurry of fans and vendors set up outside Harrah’s. A few strummed guitars and danced barefoot while a block of vendors hocked band merch, handmade jewelry and other trinkets.
On the sidewalk, Bobby Elizando stood behind a flat top grill in a bright green tie-dye shirt, cooking pesto grilled cheeses that he said he “makes with love.” It’s his first concert since Hurricane Helene struck the region, destroying his truck and ruining the roads near his home in Burnsville.
The vendor and Billy Strings fan said he’s happy to be back in his element.
“It's beautiful he decided to come to this area because it needs this right now,” he said. “It's a really uplifting thing to see the community here after such a horrible tragedy.”
Elizondo loves being part of the Billy Strings fandom. The bluegrass music – and its connection to Appalachian culture – is what makes Strings’ appearance such a special experience.
“It's just familiar and it's good and it's wholesome and it's uplifting. And that's what everybody needs,” he said. “To take a step back, forget everything that's been going on for a moment and just enjoy these amazing musicians create something that's so like just unlike anything else, you know?”
Down the block from Elizando, Christina Parks and Carol Peugh were at the front of the line for the concert. They’ve both seen Strings perform more than 30 times and they traveled from Cedar Key, Fla., for the show.
Parks said she first saw Strings in 2022 in St. Augustine, Fla.
“I’ve been drinking the Kool Aid ever since,” she said. “Every show is different. I think he has something like over 900 songs in his set-list catalog. He will not play the same song any night that he's here in Asheville.”
BPR asked Parks what people should expect from a Billy Strings concert.
“For your face to be melted,” she replied. “There are no words or anything that I can tell you to prepare you for what's going to happen inside tonight. Just hang on for the ride.”
Parks was also hit by Hurricane Helene at her Cedar Key home, so she said she understands the struggle Asheville has faced post-Helene. She and Peugh are spending the week volunteering in storm-torn areas like Black Mountain and Swannanoa and bringing some much-needed business for local establishments.
All these extra visitors bring a lively energy to downtown, one that many local businesses have missed.
Gar Ragland, a co-founder of Citizen Vinyl, a downtown cafe and record plant, said the connection between Strings and Asheville is “really fitting.”
“The style of music that Billy plays really speaks to the bluegrass and acoustic roots of this area,” he said. “But he's also very much exploring, he's improvising, he definitely has elements of the jam band thing.”
There’s an experimental, sometimes weirdness, in Billy’s music that Ragland said harmonizes with Asheville’s eclecticism.
“Billy marches to the beat of his own drum and I think many people here in this community subscribe to that same sort of lifestyle and philosophy,” he said. “They look up to Billy as a musical role model, someone that's not afraid to take chances, to experiment with new approaches.”
As Asheville and the surrounding community heal from the troubling ripple effects of Hurricane Helene, a show of this magnitude can make a huge difference, Ragland said.
“Most of the businesses in downtown Asheville, Citizen Vinyl included, are very much looking forward to both this weekend and next weekend,” he said. “We're all hopeful that his fans will generate a significant positive economic impact here locally, because we certainly need it post hurricane.”
