Bluegrass star Billy Strings has never been shy about proudly displaying his love of metal. This past summer, he welcomed the likes of Bane, Cryptopsy and more to his ‘Ionia Freak Fair‘. That festival even saw Strings hit the stage with Cryptopsy, a band he’d already previously worked with.
This past weekend saw Strings once again indulge in his heavier tendencies during his Halloween show at the CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, MD. Going above and beyond, that set was centered around the ‘Masters Of The Universe‘ franchise, with Strings himself pulling double duty as He-Man and Prince Adam.
Various other musicians joining him onstage that night followed suit, donning costumes of characters from the popular animated series and toy line that launched the ‘Masters Of The Universe‘ franchise. Strings didn’t just stop there however, as covers of songs from the ‘He-Man‘ universe were played, complete with a towering ‘Castle Grayskull’ backdrop. The majority of the set was actually comprised of previously unaired covers from Strings and co., including renditions of tracks from Diana Ross, 4 Non Blondes, Yes, Bob Dylan and more.
Also featured later in the set were takes on Slayer‘s “Skeletons Of Society” (with ‘Skeletor‘ guesting on vocals), Dio‘s “Rainbow In The Dark“, Foo Fighters‘ “My Hero“, and Black Sabbath‘s “Symptom Of The Universe“.
According to those in attendance, the setlist for the night ran as follows:
“He Man And The Masters Of The Universe Theme” (Haim Saban & Shuki Levy cover)
“Prince Adam” (new original song)
“Teela’s Quest” (new original song) (feat. Molly Tuttle)
“What’s Up?” (4 Non Blondes cover) (feat. Molly Tuttle)
“Fearless” (Pink Floyd cover)
“Eternia” (new original song)
“The Power” (Snap cover)
“Muscles” (Diana Ross cover) (feat. Sierra Hull)
“Tentacle Dragon (Revenge Of The)” (Béla Fleck cover) (Feat. Sierra Hull)
“Doin’ Things Right” (feat. Sierra Hull)
“Ghost Train” (Bad Livers cover) (feat. Sierra Hull)
“Skeletons Of Society” (Slayer cover)
“Leaders“
“Black Clouds” (The String Cheese Incident cover)
“Orko’s Theme” (Shuki Levy & Haim Saban cover)
“Rainbow In The Dark” (Dio cover)
“End Of The Rainbow” (Frank Wakefield cover) (feat. Sierra Hull)
“South Side Of The Sky” (Yes cover)
“Symptom Of The Universe” (Black Sabbath cover)
“Strong Enough” (Sheryl Crow cover) (feat. Molly Tuttle)
“Flirtin’ With Disaster” (Molly Hatchet cover)
“All Along The Watchtower” (Bob Dylan cover)
“My Hero” (Foo Fighters cover) (feat. Molly Tuttle)
“He Man And The Masters Of The Universe Theme” (Haim Saban & Shuki Levy cover) (feat. Molly Tuttle & Sierra Hull)
In keeping with the theme, Strings even went so far as to offer up the following video after the show. In it, he portrays Prince Adam, He-Man‘s alter ego. The clip is a nod to the PSAs of the original 80s animated series that would air after each episode, serving up moral lessons, most of which pertained the subject matter of the episode itself.
