Courtesy of Tom Petty
A variety of music stars, including Stevie Nicks, Stephen Stills and Jackson Browne, took part in a special virtual celebration on Friday night to commemorate would would have been the late Tom Petty‘s 70th birthday last Tuesday.
The almost-three-hour event, which streamed at TomPetty.com and Petty’s official Facebook page, featured new and archival performances, spoken-word tributes and stories, interview clips with Petty and concert footage of Tom playing with his band The Heartbreakers.
The program included an emotional spoken-word homage from Nicks, Stills performing “I Won’t Back Down” with his son Chris, and Browne delivering a rendition of “The Waiting.”
The special ended with a three-song set by Petty’s two closest collaborators, Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench, who were featured performing at the band’s rehearsal space, marking the first time they played together since Tom’s death in October 2017.
Among the other artists and celebrities who performed and/or appeared on the special were Heartbreakers bassist Ron Blair, Foo Fighters, The Byrds‘ Roger McGuinn, The Bangles‘ Susanna Hoffs, Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder, Eurythmics‘ Dave Stewart, Lenny Kravitz, Jane’s Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins, Jakob Dylan, Dhani Harrison, Adam Sandler, Kiefer Sutherland, Beck, The Flaming Lips, Gary Clark Jr., Norah Jones, producer Rick Rubin and many more.
The event, titled Tom Petty’s 70th Birthday Bash, can be viewed on-demand now at TomPetty.com, and an encore broadcast also will be shown via Amazon Video at 1 p.m. ET today.
Those watching the special are encouraged to donate to these charities: Save Our Stages, Digitunity, Music in Medicine and MusiCares.
Here’s the full performance set list of the special:
“Free Fallin'” — Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers*
“Listen To Your Heart” — The Flaming Lips
“Yer So Bad” — Adam Sandler
“Don’t Come Around Here” — Beck with Jeffertitti
“The Waiting” — Jackson Browne
“Stop Draggin My Heart Around” — Margo Price and Lukas Nelson
“Southern Accents” — Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real
“I Need to Know” — Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers*
“Free Fallin'” — Susanna Hoffs
“Walls” — The Lumineers’ Wesley Schultz
“Breakdown” — Spoon
“Angel Dream” — Lady Blackbird
“Crawling Back to You” — Margo Price
“Oh Well” — Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers*
“Honey Bee” — Foo Fighters
“Runnin’ Down a Dream” — Lucinda Williams
“Rockin’ Around with You” — Sabina Sciubba
“Refugee” — Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers*
“Good Enough” — Gary Clark Jr.
“Love Is a Long Road” — Dhani Harrison and Blur’s Graham Coxon
“Room at the Top” — Amos Lee
“Climb That Hill” — Drive-By Tuckers’ Patterson Hood
“Cabin Down Below” — Mosshart-Sexton
“Wildflowers” — Brandi Carlile
“Don’t Fade on Me” — Chris Stapleton
“Time to Move On” — Norah Jones
“Only a Broken Heart” — Norah Jones
“King of the Hill” — Roger McGuinn
“I Won’t Back Down” Stephen Stills and Chris Stills
“Kings Highway” — Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers*
“It’s Good to Be King” — Dave Stewart
“American Girl” — Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench
“Something Good Coming” — Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench
“We What Boogie Bout Midnight” — Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench
* = archival performance.
By Matt Friedlander
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