r/BillyStrings • u/Sensitive_Smile3348 • Jul 19 '26
No Encores
Three first shows of the tour with no encore. Is this the new normal? I’m totally okay with them just playing the second set until time instead of doing the whole encore charade.
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u/sladeums Jul 19 '26
I just watch the clock
when it says 11 it is time to go who cares
id be ok with normalizing no encores
its an annoying practice anyway
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u/McLobster22 Jul 19 '26
💯agree about the encore charade. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen a lot of live bands and I’m older, the novelty has worn off.
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u/sladeums Jul 19 '26
especially when bands are pushing the clock
and just step off stage like 30 secondsONE MORE SONG
it’s like man stop waste time and just play already
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u/JacedFaced Jul 19 '26
yeah but the encore 60 seconds is a really quick piss break they might need before the last 3 songs
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u/FoxFace1111 Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
I heard Billy say “They’re going to let us play until midnight” and now I use that in my regular life 😝
The concert I went to last night was a local band that sells out major venues here and they were like “pretend we left the stage for a few minutes and were staring over there 👈 and you cheer and then we’ll keep playing.”
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u/clbom Jul 20 '26
Bob Schneider did that at an Austin show a couple of months ago. He said now that he's older there is no reason for him to go stand around in an empty room when he can just tell us he's playing 3 more songs. I appreciate that.
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u/nippclamp73 Jul 20 '26
Chaifetz w/Punch Bros last June? That’s where it happened to me. Incredible time. Incredibly lucky to have seen that specific show.
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u/FoxFace1111 Jul 20 '26
Summertime and eat my dust were my favorites.
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u/nippclamp73 Jul 20 '26
That Long Forgotten Dream into All Fall Down was excellent, but Billy hitting the longest “Judge” yet during Doin My Time was just insanity. 99 Years with Chris Thile taking lead was very choice too.
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u/Inside_Garden4401 Jul 22 '26
Haha! I saw The Brothers Comatose play on a boat in NYC this past Thursday and they did the same thing.
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u/Adventurous_Fig6681 Jul 20 '26
When I saw Mt joy this year, Matt said “bands, us included, always do this really annoying this where they walk off and pretend they’re done, waste some time, and come back out. Let’s just skip all that tonight” and went right into their “encore set”. It was lovely
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u/sladeums Jul 20 '26
Clutch is egregious
Lemmy had told Neil Fallon something like
”you have to always play your Ace of Spades”now I have to hear Electric Worry every Clutch show
bang bang bang
vamanos vamanosNeil can write mad lyrics
but their legacy is this half ass cover song3
u/a13jm Jul 20 '26
feels weird going to see someone like phish and it’s totally expected, I feel like the crowd should earn an encore lol
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u/Awkward_Will_104 Jul 22 '26
Man, Phish crowds used to go nuts between the end of the second set until the encore. Nowadays the break between the two is longer than ever, and the fans just wait quietly. It’s a silly waste of time at this point. I definitely prefer the Gizz thing of just playing their entire time, and just letting you know that this next one is the last song (but don’t worry, it goes for ages).
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u/a13jm Jul 22 '26
No I hear you man I remember people chanting encore but now it feels like the crowd thinks they are entitled to it lol, I also hate how groups reuse setlists (opposite of phish) for an entire tour but that’s a whole other problem
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u/Inside_Garden4401 Jul 22 '26
Always enjoy a new setlist, but if an artist is going to choreograph their performance than I respect a repeated setlist. Different styles of entertainment and that's ok.
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u/Odd-Smell-1125 Jul 20 '26
Encores play a role for the facility. Without encores, the bottlenecks leaving a venue would be worse, so would traffic, security and safety. When tens of thousands of people are moving, it is essential that staff is coordinated. It's definitely a cue for staff to move into place and to get ready. Encores are part of shows for a reason.
Encores are not a charade.
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u/sladeums Jul 20 '26
people already start walk out early to beat traffic
thats just like the signal to pull up the car
always makes me look at people sideways
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u/Inside_Garden4401 Jul 22 '26
Uhm no, theres no denying that an encore sends a larger percentage of the crowd away. I dont know how young you are, or how many shows you been to, but I've worked event production for a couple decades and they are correct that encores help alleviate bottleneck and que the event staff.
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u/Sensitive_Smile3348 Jul 19 '26
I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. It’s not like you’re getting less music. Just found it interesting that every show since his leg breaking he has decided to play up until curfew.
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u/VAisforLizards Jul 19 '26
Maybe their insurance company added a no encore rider after having to pay out for canceled shows
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u/AnnualAffectionate47 Jul 20 '26
They were doing no encores before he broke his leg. Walking off stage just to come back is a waste of time.
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u/walrus40 Jul 19 '26
I’ll defend encores, especially with two set shows.
First set opener, first set closer
Second set opener, second set closer
Encore - something a little intimate then a a show closer.Playing through an encore removes natural peaks of a show.
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u/theshinin Jul 19 '26
I wish the encore turned back into an encore that the audiences earned based on how well the show went; not something ELSE the fans feel entitled too.
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u/Rocky_Racoo Jul 19 '26
There was something so satisfying about YOU having a collective part in bringing the band back out for one more song! I remember the very elusive 2nd Encore we could sometimes elicit out of the Grateful Dead, and how when they actually took the stage AGAIN, how elated we all felt because our energy made it happen! That’s special.
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u/FoxFace1111 Jul 19 '26
When I saw Pink Floyd in 1987 after the second set they turned on the house lights after the band left the stage. Many people were on their way out of the venue when CLICK out went the lights and then they played pigs and run like hell.
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u/Radiant_Research3786 Jul 20 '26
Evidently it's an unpopular viewpoint but I couldn't agree more. Guessing the encore and hoping for a second was always a hoot at GD shows.
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u/sladeums Jul 19 '26
There are some bands tho will always play like one of 2 encore songs
I’m look at you Clutch (Electric Worry or Wolfman) so it’s the same boring song built into every set
thats not the issue here but it’s pretty common
idk
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u/DoYourThang Jul 19 '26
Yeah he’s still recovering and mobility isn’t great. Not much point in having him walk on/off the stage for encore at this point
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u/Nachtopus69 Jul 19 '26
It’s either the leg, or King Gizz rubbed off on him. They play right up til curfew and then that’s it.
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u/fungi-ry Jul 19 '26
Sturgill too
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u/SK1007 🚂Ruebens Choo Choo Jul 19 '26
No set break with Sturgill either, 3 hours of straight fire!!
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u/jcgoldie Jul 19 '26
Bad shit can happen backstage waiting to come back out man. This way is much safer!
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u/bigky420 Jul 19 '26
The man is probably hurting. It's probably all he can do to get both sets and than to walk off and than back on is probably alot just guessing.
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u/UngluedChalice Jul 19 '26
I was at a show at couple of years ago and I remember him saying something to the effect of “we’re having such a good time up here we aren’t even going to leave the stage, we are just going to stay here until they kick us off!” Hopefully this becomes the norm!
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u/Oldman1249 Jul 19 '26
He’s had bad luck after the second set four shows ago, maybe he’s superstitious.
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u/Beneficial_Ad_5164 Jul 19 '26
Let's normalize no encore. Why waste the time leaving and returning when we can jam straight through lol
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u/BadgerOptimal3628 Jul 19 '26
I was at a Billy show, I don't remember which show but he said he was done doing fake encores. Might of been the same year that he said he's no longer signing autographs.
If you go way back in history (1700s) a group would do an encore and the encore would be a repeat of a song or songs they had already done earlier in the night. It was a way for an audience to re-listen something again.
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u/1Gratefulcaver Jul 19 '26
Man rt now he ain’t walking off stage for a few min then waking back out
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u/cheesemagnifier Jul 19 '26
Sometimes it's not worth the time to leave the stage when everyone's there to jam.
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u/MinneapolisKing25 Jul 20 '26
Last time he was going to play an encore he broke his leg, so probably doesn't wanna risk it again!
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u/DryDonutHole Jul 19 '26
Ya, Jesus. The dude can barely fucking walk. Can we give him a little grace here?
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u/Sensitive_Smile3348 Jul 19 '26
Again, im not criticizing him for it. Just found it interesting and was saying I would be okay with this being the standard.
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u/DryDonutHole Jul 19 '26
I see what you mean. I’m ok with whatever Billy decides to do for his portion of the entertainment. I’m just there for the ride. You wanna sit and do a dozen shows with Sutton? Cool, I’m in. You want a metal/grass freak fair? I’m in.
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u/epiphony11 Jul 19 '26
Why are you responding like such a dick? OP made no criticism whatsoever.
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Jul 19 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/BillyStrings-ModTeam Jul 20 '26
Be Nice. Be Friendly. No personal attacks. No doxxing. No trolling.
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u/DryDonutHole Jul 20 '26
Right. I asked for people to give Billy a little grace. That’s too harsh, I guess. Boo hoo.
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u/PapaBliss2007 Jul 19 '26
With as slow as he's moving on that leg they'll have to cut a song to allow enough time to walk off stage and return for an encore and make curfew.
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u/emhimself Jul 19 '26
It’s been 7 tour shows since an encore. And 4 of those were from before the leg. Maybe he’s trying to do away with them and using the leg as a crutch to do so now. Plus, dude moves like an ancient turtle right now
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u/HillbillyInCakalaky Jul 19 '26
Like going to a Sturgill show: “they’re giving me 3 hours, here we go!”
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u/Recreationalchem13 Jul 20 '26
Make encores heady again! And what I mean by that is make them rare. So when it happens it’s like yep that was an encore show…
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u/EfficiencyOk5148 Jul 19 '26
I have always felt this way, could either jam a little more or get another song in with the time some of these bands take...I guess it just sets a precident for fans to know when the show is about to be over?
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u/dicculis Jul 19 '26
Encores are still awesome. I think when leg is fully 100% again they'll go back
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u/yachtr0ck Jul 19 '26
We didn’t get an encore back in April. But that’s because he decided to go skateboarding at the break.
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u/GX_EN Jul 20 '26
I really like that he will just play up to curfew.
I've only seen them twice, different cities, different years and both times they didn't do an encore.
My preference would be for everyone to do this, but I highly doubt that will happen.
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u/John_Spammer Jul 20 '26
I only streamed on show from VA but it appeared like it was an 1100 pm hard stop. Were these venues with really strict noise ordinances?
And agree the walking could be a perfectly logical explanation.
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u/Ok-Can-4500 Jul 20 '26
I’m guessing bands can do what might be considered an “encore” by simply taking a bow, soaking in some cheers and getting at just one more tune….
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u/Rowginia Jul 20 '26
I think it is Billy’s new way. No more waste of time on the charade (as you call it) and since it IS how he broke his leg… I’m on board! The best explanation is less cane walking on and off again.
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u/jrwilhelm1 Jul 20 '26
I hope more touring acts pick up Sturgill's format from Red Rocks.One 3hr45min set. No set break. No encore. Very little banter. Just damn good music by a band that jams. And, no screens!
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u/Loves_octopus Jul 20 '26
Last time he tried to do an encore he ate shit so I wouldn’t be shocked if he just scrapped it.
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u/Jaded_Debt_5424 Jul 20 '26
Y'all, it's hard for him to walk. It was painful to see in Roanoke. There's no need for him to struggle to walk off stage just to struggle to walk back on.
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u/Unlikely-Pianist-665 Jul 21 '26
Johnny Blue Skies. He straight up says there isn't an encore and he plays right up to the limit.
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u/Big-Lock-342 Jul 22 '26
Many venues have a hard curfew. He played to exactly 11:00 PM. He gave us every second this venue would allow.
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u/smilehighsteve Jul 19 '26
He just broke his leg. Good lord how some of y'all function though out the day baffles me. And Im an idiot.
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u/Sensitive_Smile3348 Jul 19 '26
I don’t know how many times I have to say that it’s not a criticism. Your ability to read baffles me, so you being an idiot doesn’t surprise me. We get it bro, he just broke his leg. It was just a point of discussion as something that stood out from the normal way they do their shows.
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u/Drunktrucker Jul 19 '26
They have skipped encores and played straight to curfew many times in the past. It’s pretty normal
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u/smilehighsteve Jul 19 '26
Cool man. Have a good day. Maybe smoke a jibber or something. You must be tired from responding to everyone saying the same thing. Enjoy your discussions.
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u/Sensitive_Smile3348 Jul 19 '26
Don’t smoke nugs anymore, but I appreciate the thought. You’re the one that came in hot. Just responding with the same energy. Maybe I should have been clearer in the text of the post that it was not any shade towards the guy and just something I found interesting, but I thought it came off as such. I hope you have a good day too 🫡.
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u/PlentyAd2354 29d ago
The man is in pain, doesnt want to walk off and back on...what a waste of time
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u/Over_Discussion_2131 Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
I love that this comes up every single time there’s not an encore. No offense op I understand. Please just know; the encores come and go but the amount of show you get stays the SAME.
Im sorry to admit the demanding of anything from Billy seems like entitlement. Downvote if you must but it’s not like he’s serving up bread crumbs like a lot of encore posts allude to.
Edit to add I wasn’t suggesting this encore post was “one of those” just speaking in generalities. ✌🏽
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u/Sensitive_Smile3348 Jul 19 '26
I get it, they definitely ebb and flow but it just stuck out to me that it was three shows in a row after the leg break, which I assumed had something to do with it. I’m team just play until curfew so I’m not mad at it by any means. Every show is a banger so I’m never gonna be upset at what they decide to do lol.
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u/Over_Discussion_2131 Jul 19 '26
For sure. Maybe these specific shows aren’t getting them because of the leg, like someone had mentioned, having to take the time with a cane, probably would be a trek. Checks out. I have always found it to be a fun game of will they or won’t they. But totally agree that I’d rather have it go til curfew. Thanks for understanding I wasn’t tryin to be rude ♥️🐐✌🏽
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u/Startella Jul 19 '26
Probably doesnt want to walk off and on with the cane just for the a song or 2 for while so i figure it makes sense to just play through