‘Last Waltz’ Tribute Tour to Feature Gov’t Mule’s Warren Haynes, Don Was

UPDATE: Organizers of The Last Waltz 40th anniversary tribute concert have added another leg to the tour beginning March 30th in Dallas. See the full dates below.

Allman Brothers Band and Gov’t Mule guitarist Warren Haynes and bassist/producer Don Was will take their tribute to the Band’s famed farewell concert, The Last Waltz, on the road next year.

The pair orchestrated a 40th anniversary tribute concert in New Orleans in April alongside a handful of musicians now set to partake in the upcoming trek: Keyboardist John Medeski, country star Jamey Johnson and drummer Terence Higgins. Michael McDonald will also join the Band tribute group, while the horn section will use the original arrangements composed by Allen Toussaint. Various special guests will be announced at a later date.

“The Last Waltz is one of the greatest rock music moments in history,” Haynes tells Rolling Stone. “When we did it in New Orleans, it was so much fun. We were able to honor what came before and still come up with a different take on the original with a very unique blend of musical personalities.”

“The Last Waltz 40 Tour” will kick off January 21st at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida and include stops in Atlanta, Nashville, Boston and Philadelphia before wrapping February 4th at the Theater at MGM National Harbor in Washington D.C. Tickets for all shows go on sale Saturday November 19th at 10 a.m. ET via the trek’s website.

The original Last Waltz was recorded at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco on November 25th, 1976, and released in 1978 as an album and concert film, directed by Martin Scorsese. 

Haynes and Was’ “Last Waltz 40” shows are not the first live tribute to the legendary concert. In August, Bob Weir and Lucinda Williams helmed a tribute at AmericanaFest NYC, while in 2013, members of Wilco, Guster, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Blitzen Trapper, Delta Spirit and more gathered at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, New York and recreated the entire 41-song show. A year prior, another group of indie heroes staged a similar event at the Warfield in San Francisco.

The Last Waltz 40 Tour Dates (New dates in bold)

January 21 – Hollywood, FL @ Hard Rock Casino
January 23 – Clearwater, FL @ Ruth Eckerd Hall
January 24 – Atlanta, GA @ Woodruff Arts Center
January 25 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
January 27 – Red Bank, NJ @ Count Basie Theatre (Jamey Johnson not scheduled to appear)
January 28 – Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre (Jamey Johnson not scheduled to appear)
January 29 – Philadelphia, PA @ Verizon Hall/Kimmel Center
January 31 – Toronto Canada @ Sony Centre
February 2 – Albany, NY @ Palace Theatre
February 3 – Westbury, NY @ Theatre at Westbury
February 4 – Washington DC @ The Theater at MGM National Harbor
March 30 – Dallas, Texas @ Verizon Theatre At Grand Prairie
March 31 – Houston, Texas @ Revention Music Center
April 1 – Austin, Texas @ Bass Concert Hall
April 2 – San Antonio, Texas @ The Tobin Center For The Performing Arts
April 7 – Detroit, Michigan @ Fox Theatre
April 8 – Louisville, Kentucky @ The Louisville Palace
April 9 – Chicago, Illinois @ Chicago Theater
April 13 – Los Angeles, California @ Orpheum Theatre
April 14 – Valley Center, California @ Harrah’s Resort Southern California
April 15 – San Francisco, California @ The Masonic