“We’ve had four days to learn these songs and we’re gonna play every single one of them tonight”: Eric Clapton, Trey Anastasio, Bob Weir, Van Morrison, Mike Campbell, Lucinda Williams celebrate Robbie Robertson at epic Martin Scorsese-curated tribute
The nearly five-hour tribute concert took place on October 17 at Los Angeles' Kia Forum and included tracks from The Band and Robertson's post-Band career
Margo Price, Bob Weir, Trey Anastasio, Jim James performs onstage at Life Is a Carnival: A Musical Celebration of Robbie Robertson held at the Kia Forum on October 17, 2024 in Los Angeles, California(Image credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
The Martin Scorsese-led Robbie Robertson tribute, The Life Is a Carnival: A Musical Celebration of Robbie Robertson, took place at Los Angeles' Kia Forum on October 17 – and it was a veritable who's who of the music industry paying tribute to The Band legend.
The roughly five-hour concert, which included performances by the likes of Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Trey Anastasio, Mike Campbell, Lucinda Williams, Bob Weir, and Warren Haynes, was clearly meant to evoke Scorsese's 1978 classic The Last Waltz, which documented The Band's farewell concert appearance at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom on Thanksgiving Day 1976.
Fast forward to 2024, and the all-star blowout paying homage to Robertson, also set to be released as a concert movie, made its mark on music history.
“We’ve had four days to learn these songs,” announced Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' Mike Campbell, setting the tone for the event, “and we’re gonna play every single one of them tonight.”
Tupelo Honey by Van Morrison Robbie Robertson Tribute Kia Forum October 17, 2024 - YouTube
Heavyweights Van Morrison and Eric Clapton, who both appeared in The Last Waltz, put their own spin on some bona fide classics, with the former delivering back-to-back performances of Tupelo Honey (from his 1971 album Tupelo Honey), Days Like This (from his 1995 album of the same name), and Wonderful Remark – which has a clear Robertson link in that it was part of Scorsese’s 1983 film The King of Comedy, whose soundtrack The Band guitarist oversaw.
Clapton, who recently revealed why he’s not particularly proud of his Last Waltz performance, gave a Strat-laden performance of The Band's The Shape I'm In (from the 1970 album Stage Fright), Chest Fever (from 1968's Music from Big Pink), Forbidden Fruit (from 1975's Northern Lights – Southern Cross), and Out of the Blue (from 1978's The Last Waltz), plus Bobby Bland's Further On Up The Road, which he also performed in The Last Waltz.
Eric Clapton "The Shape I'm In" Robbie Robertson Celebration, Kia Forum, Los Angeles, CA 10.17.24 - YouTube
Anastasio, who, together with Mavis Staples and Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir, gave a heartfelt rendition of The Weight, the Robertson-penned 1968 hit that served as the first single under the moniker The Band, told Rolling Stone right before the show, “In the style of music that I play, the Band is the foundation – I grew up listening to this music and it’s the high water mark. So being able to take part in a couple of the songs from this huge legacy of masterpieces that were left behind by Robbie and the Band it just means so much.”
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Brandishing one of his trusty Languedoc guitars, he also performed The Unfaithful Servant (from the 1969 album The Band) and Look Out Cleveland (from that same album).
While the setlist was unabashedly The Band-heavy, pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph and record producer Daniel Lanois – who produced Robertson’s first solo album – chose songs from Robertson's post-Band career, delivering Straight Down The Line (from 2011's How to Become Clairvoyant) and Broken Arrow (from 1987's Robbie Robertson) respectively.
“It’s a song that’s very dear to me,” Lanois told Variety, “and brings up a lot of memories of us huddled up in the little studio at the Village, working up these arrangements. It was a great honor for a Canadian kid, because as a guitar player, Robbie was always a hero for me. And so there I was working with one of my heroes, and we had a nice exchange because he loves imaginative thinking. The wildest idea, he would really accept.”
The evening’s full setlist is below [as reported by Variety]:
Set 1 Peyote Healing – Verdell Primeaux Up on Cripple Creek – Eric Church Ophelia – Ryan Bingham The Best of Everything – Mike Campbell Evangeline – Margo Price Acadian Driftwood – Allison Russell, Julian Taylor, and Logan Staats Straight Down the Line – Robert Randolph Who Do You Love – Taj Mahal Down South in New Orleans – Dave Malone and Cyril Neville Go Back to Your Woods – Bruce Hornsby King Harvest – Bruce Hornsby The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down – Jamey Johnson
Set 2 Broken Arrow – Daniel Lanois Life Is a Carnival – Warren Haynes Whispering Pines – Lucinda Williams Twilight – Nathaniel Rateliff Across the Great Divide – Nathaniel Rateliff Rag Mama Rag – Jamey Johnson Don’t Do It – Nathaniel Rateliff with Margo Price Tupelo Honey – Van Morrison Days Like This – Van Morrison Wonderful Remark – Van Morrison
Set 3 The Shape I’m In – Eric Clapton Out of the Blue – Eric Clapton Forbidden Fruit – Eric Clapton Chest Fever – Eric Clapton Further on Up the Road – Eric Clapton
Set 4 Forever Young – Ryan Bingham It Makes No Difference – Jim James Stage Fright – Warren Haynes Caravan – Warren Haynes When I Paint My Masterpiece – Bob Weir The Unfaithful Servant – Trey Anastasio Look Out Cleveland – Trey Anastasio The Weight – Mavis Staples with Trey Anastasio and Bob Weir I Shall Be Released – Jamey Johnson, Jim James, Allison Russell, and full company
Janelle is a staff writer at GuitarWorld.com. After a long stint in classical music, Janelle discovered the joys of playing guitar in dingy venues at the age of 13 and has never looked back. Janelle has written extensively about the intersection of music and technology, and how this is shaping the future of the music industry. She also had the pleasure of interviewing Dream Wife, K.Flay, Yīn Yīn, and Black Honey, among others. When she's not writing, you'll find her creating layers of delicious audio lasagna with her art-rock/psych-punk band ĠENN.
