Blackbird Presents Announces Last Waltz Tour In Association With Robbie Robertson

Scott Dudelson / Getty Images – Experienced Waltzers
Warren Haynes, Terence Higgins, Don Was and Jamey Johnson (from left to right) perform at Los Angeles’ Orpheum Theatre on April 13, 2017, as part of the most recent Last Waltz tour. All four will join for this November’s iteration.

Robbie Robertson and Blackbird Presents announced a star-studded Last Waltz tour on Wednesday.

“The Last Waltz Tour 2019: A Celebration of The Band’s Historic Farewell Concert” will pay homage to the rock group’s seminal 1976 concert – later turned into a beloved documentary by Martin Scorsese – and feature a cast including Warren Haynes, Don Was, Lukas Nelson and Jamey Johnson.

The ensemble will be rounded out by John Medeski, Terence Higgins, Dave Malone, Cyril Neville, Bob Margolin and Mark Mullins & The Levee Horns.

Courtesy of Blackbird Presents – The Last Waltz Tour 2019
The art for the upcoming Last Waltz tour.

The tour begins Nov. 5 at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y., and will subsequently hit smaller locales, like Toyota Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, Conn., and major markets such as the Tower Theatre in Philadelphia. The dates wrap up on Nov. 21 at the Chicago Theatre.

“It is such an honor that the musical celebration of The Last Waltz and The Band carries on today,” Robertson said in a statement. “Blackbird Presents and this extraordinary lineup of talent makes me proud to be a part of this ongoing and wonderful tradition.”

The tour’s announcement comes as Robertson prepares to release his first album in eight years, Sinematic, on Sept. 20.

Though this is Robertson’s first involvement with a Blackbird-presented Last Waltz event, the tour originated with two April 2016 concerts at New Orleans’ Saenger Theatre. The gigs played homage to the recently deceased Allen Toussaint and featured a lineup that included all the musicians setting out on tour this year.

In early 2017, much of that lineup – with Robertson’s only surviving Band alum Garth Hudson along for the ride – embarked on a successful Last Waltz tour. Highlights included a sold-out show at Boston’s Orpheum Theatre that sold 2,682 tickets and grossed $205,191, and a gig at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium that sold 1,819 tickets and grossed $182,745, according to Pollstar Boxoffice reports. Dr. John and Taj Mahal joined for the latter part of the tour.

“We are very excited to be working closely with Robbie, Warren, Don and our incredible lineup of musicians and special guests on the latest incarnation of The Last Waltz Tour,” Blackbird Presents CEO Keith Wortman said in a statement. “This year’s tour will introduce fans to some very special never-heard-before arrangements of the classic hits from that Thanksgiving night in 1976.”

Earlier this year, Blackbird Presents, whose portfolio also includes Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival and all-star tribute shows to Jerry Garcia, John Lennon and Merle Haggard, announced the addition of Joe Litvag as partner and president of live entertainment.

Tickets go on sale at thelastwaltz.com on Sept. 6 at 10 a.m. local time, except for the date at Saint Augustine Amphitheatre, which goes on sale Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. local time. Find the tour’s list of dates below.