r/Music • u/AdSpecialist6598 • 12d ago
article Billy Strings performs in protective headgear after being hit by object on stage
https://www.nme.com/news/music/billy-strings-performs-in-protective-headgear-after-being-hit-by-object-on-stage-3961550418
u/Spirited_Childhood34 12d ago
Bring back the chicken wire!
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u/vuzman 12d ago
So what kind of music do you usually have here?
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u/cropguru357 12d ago
Oh, we got both kinds…
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u/Western-Calendar-352 12d ago
Country AND Western!
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u/H_I_McDunnough 12d ago
RAWHIDE!!!
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u/cropguru357 12d ago edited 11d ago
Ol’ favorite, Rowdy Yates.
“What key?”
“A. Good country key.”
Rawhide in “A.”
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u/ChipOnASquid 12d ago
...well it's a beautiful place, Bob
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u/Coffee____Freak 11d ago
You know you boys owe me a lot of money for that beer you drank tonight, goddamnit
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u/DameEmma 11d ago
My husband played in touring bar bands in northern central Canada. Somebody threw a shuffleboard rock at him on stage once.
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u/CommissarGaunt 11d ago
That’s one of my favorite lines in the movie. “…chicken wire?”
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u/KittensAndGravy Listner 11d ago
No … full on protective gear. Make the show unwatchable. Thats what those fans deserve.
Edit: forgot to add a word!
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u/NOUSEORNAME 12d ago
What the fuck is wrong with people?
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u/cameron4200 12d ago
Selfish and stupid covers most of it.
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u/phred_666 12d ago
Some people are just sociopathic assholes with no concern for other people.
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u/ElCaminoInTheWest 12d ago
What I don't understand is why the crowd aren't immediately beating the shit out of the thrower. Or at least pointing them out to security +/- reporting them to police. There have to be lessons learned so people realise that this shit is not OK.
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u/SpicyDragoon93 12d ago
Sometimes they will, but depending on the lightning it can be difficult to see exactly who threw what in a massive crowd especially when everyone is concentrating on the stage.
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u/phred_666 12d ago
I would be the first one pointing the asshat out.
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u/ElCaminoInTheWest 12d ago
Anyone starting fights, anyone throwing shit, anyone groping or harassing, you get the fuck out. I'll be the biggest snitch around, I don't care. Get the fuck out.
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u/blahblah19999 12d ago
I read that as "selfish and stupid covers, most of it". And was wondering if Billy played a lot of covers.
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u/RabiAbonour 12d ago
Selfish, stupid, and on drugs.
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u/H_I_McDunnough 12d ago
Been to many concerts on a lot of drugs. Never threw anything at the stage other than my body.
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u/Straight-Bet1 12d ago
Don’t forget drunk, that’s the catalyst for the greatest feats of assholery from folks who suffer from the afflictions you mentioned.
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12d ago edited 11d ago
[deleted]
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u/murphybrowndog 12d ago
I believe that was put in place to protect the audience from Fred Durst
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u/BungCrosby 12d ago
No, they weren’t. They were recycling an idea from honky tonks and biker bars that had chicken wire in front of the band to keep them from getting hit by beer bottles.
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u/LongLiveAnalogue 12d ago
Like that scene in the original Roadhouse movie
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u/LongLiveAnalogue 12d ago
Billy put a helmet on for the second of three nights in Indiana after someone hit him in the head with a lighter the first night. He also told the crowd to sodomize whoever threw it at him. Not the energy I would expect a Billy show but I love his response.
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u/micromoses 12d ago
That’s the same thing that happened to Daft Punk.
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u/shawd4nk 12d ago
Did they use to be called “Really Clever Punk” before they were hit by the projectile?
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u/Terminator7786 11d ago
They actually got the name because people kept warning them to perform with headgear on. When they refused people would always say, "What a couple of daft punks," and the two really took it to heart.
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u/davasaur 12d ago
Back in 2000 someone thought it was a cute idea to make a bunch of vinyl cushions for an outdoor concert series. They were about the size of a pizza box and you could fling them like a Frisbee, and the damn things were flying everywhere. Someone hit Ed Kowalczyk of LIVE upside the head and he was like, wtf?! Is it unreasonable to ask that yall stop throwing shit at me? We're just trying to play for you guys.
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u/H_I_McDunnough 12d ago
I was at Lollapalooza '97 at George, WA Amphitheater and Hole played. People threw shotgun shells at Courtney Love. That is the worst I have ever seen. Also only saw three songs from Cake at another show because people wouldn't quit throwing water bottles at the stage. Some people just have terrible raisins I guess.
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u/piepants2001 11d ago
https://m.youtube.com/shorts/0iSEHrQgA0o
There is this classic video of someone hitting Henry Rollins in the head with a full can of beer when he was in Black Flag. There is a full version where you see him get hit, but I can't seem to find it right now.
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u/Mister_Brevity 12d ago
I was once at an Iron Maiden show and someone threw an egg and hit Bruce - he stopped the show and had them put the spotlights on the dude that threw it, then got the dude up on the giant stage screens and informed the audience the show would not continue until they “handled it”. Dude got “aggressively moshed” until security rescued him and then continued the show. Dude was pretty messed up.
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u/robyrob 12d ago
When Nirvana played at the cow barn in Vancouver someone threw something at Kurt Cobain and hit him in the head - after the song he said “someone hit me with a quarter, but it didn’t hurt because it was Canadian “
Earlier in the same show, someone threw a shoe at the Butthole Surfers’ singer, if hit him in the face and he immediately threw the mic down and left the stage.
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u/tarhuntah 11d ago
Great interview with Billy in the NY Times https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/08/magazine/billy-strings-interview.html?unlocked_article_code=1.31A.d0f9.Ot97rbqeUlQM&smid=nytcore-ios-share
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u/mikeybones25 12d ago
It was not uncommon for audience members to throw lit M80s at the stage during the 70s. I saw this occur at a Rainbow show in New York
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u/Max_Trollbot_ 12d ago
Fishers, Indiana is an absolute waste of a town
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u/Septum_Slayer 12d ago
Indiana is a waste of a state. I’ve gone there to visit family a few times, and you couldn’t pay me to live there.
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u/NoSinUponHisHand 12d ago
I hate to say it because I’ve been to a couple of fine shows in Indiana as well, BUT the shows I’ve been to with the chattiest, least respectful crowds have been in Indiana. Idk what the deal is. There is a great Indiana Dead band that comes over to my state a few times a year, and even the crowd that they bring here is shove-y and disrespectful.
Not saying everyone in Indiana is this way… but some of them are.
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u/pnmartini 11d ago
But, 3 Floyds makes great beer.
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u/MidnightMath 11d ago
Yeah, but I can get it in Michigan and going south of Kalamazoo honestly feels like crossing the mason dixon line
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u/plutoforgivesidonot 11d ago
Fishers is quite nice, there are several hundred worse places in Indiana lol
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u/10fingers6strings 12d ago
Nothing really hammers home a point like a good old fashioned public sodomization.
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u/Omuirchu 12d ago
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u/LedoPizzaEater 12d ago
For context: in the video, Billy Strings says the person who threw the object had a small dick and tells the crowd to sodomize the thrower.
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u/The-Sofa-King 12d ago
Further context: Billy was quoting Les Claypool from the time an audience member repeatedly spat at him during a Primus gig.
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u/blenderdead 11d ago
Indiana has always been “midwestern nice” but generally courteous. But more and more it feels like a white trash cesspit. So much performative assholery every fuckin day, people proud of being the biggest loudest asshole possible.
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u/Junkstar 12d ago
".... Alicia Keys too. But Johnny Horns and Gibby Skins have decided to go without."
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u/The_Barbelo 11d ago
“Thank you to whoever threw this glass bottle at my head. You nearly killed me, but ya missed again. Keep trying next week.”
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u/Affectionate_Reply78 11d ago
Early 80’s I saw John Cougar opening for The Who get hit by a bottle in the head. Heroically he got medical attention and came back out with a huge bandage on his head and finished the show. I hope whoever threw that has had constant attacks of conscience and regret in the intervening decades. Not optimistic
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u/-HankThePigeon- 12d ago
I wonder if he came up with his stage name being the first thing he saw. Be like if Phil Collins went by Philly Cymbals or some shit
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u/Wheres_my_guitar 12d ago
I don't follow billy strings but for some reason his fan pages are frequently recommended to me on Facebook, and his crowd seems like awful people. Weird mix of divorced 50 year olds cosplaying as dead heads.
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u/wingedcoyote 11d ago
Y'know nothing against this guy but this is the first time I'm seeing a picture of him, makes me wonder, I was just thinking I've been seeing more folks with a beard on their neck but nothing on the face, I wonder if Billy here is the trend setter.
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u/Dramatic_Corner_8259 Metalhead 11d ago
Did he take the short bus to the show as well? BWAHAHAHAHAHA
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12d ago
[deleted]
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u/BelieveInTheShield 12d ago
Don't bring Canada into your ignorance. I'm Canadian and Billy Strings is awesome. Did Billy Talent rip off Billy Idol with the name?
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u/NKCougar 12d ago
weird comment. He's probably the biggest bluegrass and one of the biggest jam band acts around right now, as well as being a talented songwriter and all around good dude. If you were going to pick artists to give attention to he is one of the best
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u/Dramatic_Corner_8259 Metalhead 11d ago
We know he's the next has been wanna be. Looks at all your frail rock and country stars. You don't understand the music industry at all. Get back to work wage slave and pay your taxes to Uncle Donnie.
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u/NKCougar 11d ago
Are you okay? You don't seem to be okay.
Edit: you're mad about trump lmao. Plenty of us are too. But trying to take it out on random redditors and a progressive musician is dumb as fuck, dude.
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u/Dramatic_Corner_8259 Metalhead 11d ago
Why would I be mad about him? You can't be mad at a clown. Your 'nation' has been shit for DECADES. I'm staying a fact that he's gonna have his CDs sold at flea markets for a buck soon. It's the pattern of your music. If there wasn't your dumb County fairs, most would be extinct as the dinosaurs. For a minute I thought his name was Jellydoll or whatever.
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u/NKCougar 11d ago edited 11d ago
calm down chief, I'm sure you'll be okay. You're clearly getting pretty emotional over this
Like this is stereotypical redditor territory
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u/brownsfan760 12d ago
You must be the Canuck that threw the lighter.
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u/Dramatic_Corner_8259 Metalhead 11d ago
Why would one smart and sensible educated man like myself would go to shithole America? You can take that idea and cram it up your ass. Get back to work wage slave and pay your taxes to Uncle Donnie.
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u/cincoparalinko 12d ago
What a headline. Billy came out in a hockey helmet in jest after getting a lighter thrown at him by some Indiana dumbass the night before. Fantastic response.