I am SO here for this.
Growing up in a musical household meant I was exposed to all the classics from a young age: The Rolling Stones, John Prine, James Brown, The Beatles, and more. My father, a musician, made it his personal goal to ensure that all of his kids knew good music and grew to have impeccable music taste.
On his mission, this meant that instead of watching Saturday morning cartoons, I spent my screen time as a child watching live concerts like U2’s Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Ireland, or The Beatles’ film Yellow Submarine.
I guess you could say his mission was accomplished given that I professionally blog about music for a living.
Because of my father’s dedication to his mission, he has country music and The Beatles-loving daughter, so when I saw this video on my YouTube suggested showed me this video, I instantly knew this was something I’d love. Let me, dear readers, introduce you to your new favorite comfort concert clip. Billy Strings covering The Beatles’ classic “Here Comes The Sun.”
For as long as I can remember, “Here Comes The Sun” has been one of my go-to comfort songs, for which I thank The Parent Trap. So, when I saw that Billy Strings put his bluegrass spin on the song, I knew this would be something I’d love… and sure enough, that thought was quickly confirmed.
Last week in Asheville, North Carolina, Billy Strings pulled out the cover during the slower portion of his set. While Strings is known for whipping his long hair back and forth on stage while he moves his fingers up and down his guitar’s neck like a madman when he does dial it back to perform slower songs like this, he shows much of versatile talent he is.
Strings stays true to the song’s original melody, not veering far from the original sound. Yet, Strings still finds a way to put his twist on the cover. With the addition of the upright bass, banjo, and mandolin, that acoustic riff that we all know and love gets beefed up, creating something that is addicting to listeners’ ears.
The combination of Strings vocals with the beautiful melodies he and his band are creating is truly stunning.
“Little darling
It’s been a long, cold, lonely winter
Little darling
It feels like years since it’s been here
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun
And I say, it’s all right…”
Not only is this a stellar cover of “Here Comes The Sun,” but Billy Strings’ choice to perform it in Asheville is a beacon of hope for the city that endured so much tragedy from Hurricane Helene. Asheville is still recovering from the hurricane, and this song delivers the message that even when the city still feels like a dark blanket is over them as they come back from the damage of Helene, there is always a sun or a ray of hope peeking through.
Just like Billy Strings sings, everything will be all right…
Turn this one up at max volume.