Musical icon Robbie Robertson will be performing at The Last Waltz Nashville: An All-Star Celebration of The Band’s Historic Farewell Concert to be held this Saturday, Nov. 23 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN. This will mark Robbie’s first live performance since 2013.
Robbie Robertson will join some of music’s biggest stars including Darius Rucker, Michael McDonald, Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, Nathaniel Rateliff, Warren Haynes, Jamey Johnson, Lukas Nelson, Margo Price, Don Was, John Medeski, Cyril Neville, Dave Malone, Bob Margolin, Terence Higgins and Mark Mullins & The Levee Horns.
In keeping with the tradition of The Last Waltz, Blackbird Presents has partnered with Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee for an on-site food drive. Concert attendees who bring non-perishable food will receive a raffle ticket for each item they donate (10 tickets per person max) for the chance to win an exclusive autographed show poster by Robbie Robertson and other performers from the show. In addition, a portion of show proceeds will benefitFarm Aid and Thistle Farms.
Over forty years ago, The Band performed their final concert to a sold-out crowd with a who’s who of Rock ‘n’ Roll royalty in attendance. “As far as farewells go, this one was major,” stated Rolling Stone in a 2016 expose about the famed concert. The evening culminated with “Don’t Do It,” The Band’s cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Baby Don’t You Do It.” After the last note, Robbie Robertson, The Bands’ lead guitarist, songwriter and a founding member, said “Goodnight. Goodbye.” walking off stage, forever immortalizing this epic event.
“These songs are so deeply entrenched in our hearts that they have become a part of who we are as humans,” said Keith Wortman, Founder of Blackbird Presents. “I am honored to present this show, with these artists, in our beloved Nashville and I’m especially proud to support Farm Aid, Thistle Farms and Second Harvest during this holiday season.”
The Last Waltz Tour: An All-Star Celebration of The Band’s Historic Farewell Concert is an extension of Blackbird Present’s November 2019 Last Waltz Tour and the acclaimed 2016 two-night, sold-out concert event The Last Waltz New Orleans and 2017’s The Last Waltz 40th Anniversary Tour which was praised by audiences and critics across the country. “You soon knew that The Band’s legacy would be well feted. Earplugs were required — for the crowd, not the band,” wrote the Huffington Post in its review of the show at the Orpheum in Boston, Massachusetts. “The last 30 minutes of The Last Waltz @SaengerNOLA was the best thing I’ve heard @jazzfest,” said Keith Spera, music critic, The New Orleans Advocate.