Billy Strings & Don Julin — KEXP at Pickathon, 2015

Recorded on 31 July 2015 for KEXP radio, on the “Logging Road” of the Pickathon festival (Happy Valley, Oregon), this filmed live session presents young guitarist Billy Strings in a duo with mandolinist Don Julin. Before his international recognition and Grammy Awards, Billy Strings already reveals himself here as an exceptional instrumentalist, an heir to bluegrass and flatpicking guitar, capable of impressively fast runs served by a keen sense of melody. Outdoors, in the intimacy of a carefully produced KEXP recording, the duo runs through four songs — “No More Paper Logs,” “Dust in a Baggie,” “Albino Skunk” and “Dealing Despair” — between revisited traditionals and original compositions. The rapport between the two musicians, built on trading lines and shared choruses, gives this performance an infectious energy. For lovers of folk, bluegrass and American acoustic music, this 2015 filmed live concert is a valuable document of the early days of an artist who has become one of the great figures of the contemporary roots scene.