Tom Petty’s 70th Birthday Bash to Feature Foo Fighters, Beck, Brandi Carlile, Adam Sandler and a Mike Campbell/Benmont Tench Teaming
Tom Petty’s annual birthday bash is taking on a bigger all-star cast as it goes virtual this year in celebration of the late musician’s 70th. Webcasts and satellite radio broadcasts Friday will feature five hours of music and testimonials to the singer-songwriter, including performances by Foo Fighters, Jackson Browne, Beck, Jason Isbell, Adam Sandler, the Killers, Brandi Carlile and Chris Stapleton, along with guest appearances by Stevie Nicks, Eddie Vedder and Post Malone.
Also participating will be the two longest-standing members of the Heartbreakers, guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench, in a special duo performance. Although Tench said in an interview published in Variety earlier Tuesday that he did not foresee taking part in a Heartbreakers full-band reunion, he had added that he would be interested in doing something more intimate with Campbell, an idea that will come to fruition Friday night.
The first half of the tribute will air exclusively on SiriusXM’s Tom Petty Radio channel, from 4:30-7 p.m. ET Friday. At that point, starting at 7 p.m. ET, the second half can be seen live in two locations — Amazon Music’s Twitch channel and TomPetty.com — as well as continuing to be heard on SiriusXM.
In addition to the above, the list of performers includes the Flaming Lips, Margo Price, Gary Clark Jr. Norah Jones, the Raconteurs, Dawes, Lucinda Willliams, Roger McGuinn, Susanna Hoffs, Stephen Stills, Patterson Hood and many more (see the full list below). Among those additionally set as guests are Rick Rubin, Jimmy Iovine, Olivia Harrison, Lenny Kravitz and more.
This year’s birthday bash will focus on raising awareness for Save Our Stages (National Independent Venue Association), whose mission is to preserve and grow independent live music venues and promoters throughout the United States; Arts In Medicine, which aims to empower musicians and impact the lives of residents in Petty’s hometown of Gainesville, Fla. and beyond; Digitunity, an initiative of the National Cristina Foundation, whose goals are to ensure everyone has the technology to thrive in the digitally connected world; and MusiCares, which provides critical assistance for music creatives in times of need.
The day will kick off with an audio broadcast via SiriusXM’s Tom Petty Radio, a channel founded five years ago and originally curated by Petty himself. Afterward, the Petty estate will join Amazon Music and livestream the concert on the platform’s Twitch channel as well as TomPetty.com. Amazon Music will also debut two brand-new playlists: [RE]DISCOVER Tom Petty, which takes listeners on a career-spanning journey through Petty’s work, and [RE]DUX 017: Tom Petty, which features Petty’s music alongside the works of his collaborators, influences and contemporaries.
In 2017, the first annual Tom Petty Birthday Bash debuted in Gainesville, where fans gathered for a six-hour show featuring Petty tunes, performed in the musician’s honor. The celebration has since grown into a full-fledged music festival featuring local and national acts.
Tom Petty’s long-awaited “Wildflowers & All The Rest,” an expansion of his 1994 “Wildflowers” that in its deluxe versions features several albums’ worth of outtakes, live and home recordings, was released last week on Warner Records to widespread critical acclaim.
The full lineup:
4:30-7 p.m. ET— SiriusXM’s Tom Petty Radio
Hosted by David Fricke & Mark Felsot and Jason & Sarah Hedges
Caamp, Dawes, Grouplove, Jason Isbell, the Killers, Kurt Vile, the Raconteurs, Resynator feat. Grace Potter, Starcrawler with Mike Campbell, Larkin Poe with Steve Ferrone, Low Cut Connie, Andrew Leahey and the Homestead, Arts in Medicine Hospital Band, Edan Archer, Emma Swift, Hannah Harber, Hannah Wicklund, Have Gun Will Travel, Hedges, Jake Thistle, Jeff Slate’s Weekend Wilburys, Johnathan Coody, Michigan Rattlers, Miss Tess, Mr. Cool, Sunkat, The High Divers, Tristen Orphans
7:00-9:30p.m. ET—Amazon Music’s Twitch Channel, TomPetty.com, and audio simulcast on SiriusXM’s Tom Petty Radio
Performances by: Mike Campbell & Benmont Tench, Adam Sandler, Amos Lee, Beck, Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton, Dave Stewart, Dhani Harrison & Graham Coxon, Emily King, The Flaming Lips, Foo Fighters, Gary Clark Jr., Jackson Browne, Lady Blackbird, Lucinda Williams, Lukas Nelson, Margo Price, Mosshart-Sexton, Norah Jones, Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers, Roger McGuinn, Sabina Sciubba, Spoon, Stephen Stills with Christopher Stills, Susanna Hoffs and Wesley Schultz of the Lumineers.
Special Guests: Eddie Vedder, Jakob Dylan, Jimmy Iovine, Kiefer Sutherland, Lenny Kravitz, Marty Stuart, Olivia Harrison, Post Malone, Rick Rubin, Stephen Perkins of Jane’s Addiction and Stevie Nicks
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