Give Billy Strings the Halloween Championship Belt. The bluegrass picker and apparent pro-wrestling fan dressed up as Hulk Hogan to deliver a concert experience for the ages on Tuesday night at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan. But Strings didn’t go it alone: each one of his bandmates and special guests, from Molly Tuttle to Sierra Hull, donned the costume of a classic wrestling character for a five-hour blowout of music and wrestling skits.
Dubbed the Van Andel Scramble, the concert streamed on Nugs.TV and played like a WWE pay-per-view. The stage was built to resemble the squared circle, a pair of commentators called the action, and an exaggerated ring announcer — Kurt Kerfuffle — announced the musicians-slash-superstars: Strings’ bassist Royal Masat lumbered to the stage as the Undertaker, banjo ace Billy Failing strutted as Randy “Macho Man” Savage, mandolinist Jarrod Walker painted his face to become Sting, and fiddler Alex Hargreaves donned a bald cap to transform into “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Tuttle and Hull represented women grapplers Becky Lynch and Rhea Ripley, respectively. It really had to be seen to be believed (and fans can still order the show on Nugs.TV).
To become the Hulkster, Strings committed to yellow-and-red tights, a bandanna, and Hogan’s handlebar mustache. He even cut a promo in which he boasted about his “4-inch pythons” and threatened to wreak havoc on his guitar tech, who, in the night’s storyline, lied about dropping and damaging Strings’ guitar. “Billymania” would end up running wild in the end however: Strings smashed his nemesis over the head with a guitar.
In between the rasslin’, Strings played a wide-ranging set full of bluegrass staples, originals (“Tinfoil and Turmoil” was particularly inspired), and a few well-chosen covers. Chief among them: a brooding version of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” a left-field take on Chumbawumba’s “Tubthumping” with Tuttle, and a version of “Real American,” the Rick Derringer-sung theme song that the real Hulk Hogan used as his entrance music throughout the Eighties.
So, whatcha gonna do to top that, Strings? Well, a new tour for starters, brother. On Wednesday, the Grammy winner announced an eight-night winter run that will hit four different venues in three cities: Asheville, North Carolina; Nashville; and Atlanta.
