Keller Williams played Revolution Live on March 29 for the second night of a three night Florida run on the Spring tour. For this tour Williams teamed up with his old friends The Hillbenders for an evening of bluegrass Tom Petty interpretations known as Pettygrass. As is typically the case with this project, Williams provided the vocals while The Hillbenders provided arrangements.
On this evening the fans were treated to a Keller Williams solo set to open the show. Keller, armed with an acoustic guitar and a dobro, was clearly having as much fun as he rolled through the set. Highlights from the opener included The Doors’ “Love Her Madly” and a near-perfect “Tennessee Jed” that highlighted his picking skills.
After the set break the enthusiastic crowd returned for a set of Williams and The Hillbenders as they ran through what amounted to Petty’s greatest hits. Showing off their picking skills, the Hillbenders led Keller through all the fan favorites that had the musicians grinning and the crowd singing along to every banjo twinged song. The set included “American Girl” , “Here Comes My Girl” , “Even The Losers” and an absolutely stunning “The Waiting”.
Once again Keller Williams showed that he is a talented virtuoso, regardless of the project he is playing in. Likewise The Hillbenders have demonstrated that even away from typical bluegrass areas they have a dedicated fan base that will come out to show their support.
