Watch Tom Petty’s 70th Birthday Tribute Concert Featuring Beck, Spoon, Flaming Lips, Margo Price, & More
Tom Petty would’ve turned 70 this week. Every year, the late legend’s family and friends celebrate his birthday with a festival in his Gainesville hometown. This year, like so many other festivals, Tom Petty’s Birthday Bash was held as a livestream, and a whole lot of big names showed up to pay their respects. Following nearly three hours of Tom Petty covers on SiriusXM’s Tom Petty Radio from the likes of the Raconteurs, the Killers, and Kurt Vile, the official livestream — also running almost three hours — started in earnest. Of course, there were a lot more Petty covers, a mixture of new performances and archival footage, along with little appearances and tributes from a stacked lineup of artists.
The Flaming Lips covered “Listen To Her Heart,” Adam Sandler talked about how much he loved Petty and then played “Yer So Bad” on acoustic guitar, Beck did “Don’t Come Around Here” with Jeffertitti, Jackson Browne did “The Waiting,” Susanna Hoffs and Lumineers’ Wesley Schultz did “Free Fallin’,” Spoon did “Breakdown,” Margo Price did “Crawling Back To You,” Lucinda Williams did “Runnin’ Down A Dream,” Dhani Harrison and Blur’s Graham Coxon did “Love Is A Long Road,” Drive-By Tuckers’ Patterson Hood did “Climb That Hill,” Mosshart-Sexton did “Cabin Down Below,” Brandi Carlile did “Wildflowers,” Chris Stapleton did “Don’t Fade On Me,” Norah Jones did “Time To Move On,” Roger McGuinn did “King Of The Hill,” Stephen and Christopher Stills did “I Won’t Back Down,” Dave Stewart did “It’s Good To Be King,” and the Heartbreakers’ Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench reunited to close out the show.
On the non-musical performance side, Lenny Kravitz and Jakob Dylan told stories about their experiences and interactions with Petty. Kiefer Sutherland talked about hearing “Breakdown” for the first time as a kid. George Harrison’s wife Olivia read a poem remembering the Traveling Wilburys days. And Post Malone, who occasionally covered “American Girl” as a tribute after Tom Petty’s death, thanked Petty for inspiring him as a songwriter. Fortunately, the entire night’s festivities have been archived on Twitch, so you can watch at your leisure below.