Grace Potter, Warren Haynes, And Others To Celebrate The 45th Anniversary Of The Last Waltz
The historic concert will be recreated at New Orleans’ Jazzfest on May 7.
Grace Potter, Warren Haynes, Ivan Neville, Jamey Johnson, and others will pay tribute to The Band’s final concert during a special performance at this year’s Jazzfest. The Last Waltz New Orleans: A Celebration of the 45th Anniversary of the Band’s Historic Farewell Concert will take place at the Big Easy’s historic Saenger Theatre on May 7.
Other participating artists include George Porter Jr., Don Was, Dave Malone, John Medeski, Cyril Neville, Terence Higgins, Bob Margolin, and Mark Mullins & The Levee Horns. Tickets for the event go on sale on March 14 via Ticketmaster, with options for VIP packages available.
On Thanksgiving of 1976, Canadian-American rock band, The Band, played their final show in San Francisco. The performance, famously known as “The Last Waltz,” featured a number of popular singer-songwriters as special guests, including Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Mavis Staples, and many more. Given its historic nature, the event was filmed by Martin Scorsese, and was eventually released as a documentary (titled The Last Waltz) in 1978. Decades later, The Last Waltz has maintained cultural relevance, and was added to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry in 2019.
The Last Waltz New Orleans: A Celebration of the 45th Anniversary of the Band’s Historic Farewell Concert was organized by Keith Wortman, Robbie Robertson, Sebastian Robertson, and Blackbird Presents. The newest Jazzfest iteration is a continuation of Blackbird Presents’ annual The Last Waltz tour each November, which included a Nashville version, as well as a 2016 two-night event in NOLA for the concert’s 40th anniversary.
“New Orleans has always felt like a second home to me musically and spiritually,” Robbie Robertson, The Band’s lead guitarist, said in a statement. “I am honored to have this extraordinary lineup of musicians celebrate the tradition of The Last Waltz in one of my favorite cities.”
For more information and ticket purchases, visit the event’s official website.
