Peterborough Musicfest Presents: The Last Waltz (A Musical Celebration of The Band)

A legendary concert event wholly deserves a re-creation of epic proportions.

So it is that since 2011, with Juno Award-winning producer Lance Anderson at the helm as musical director, The Last Waltz – A Musical Celebration of The Band Live has enthralled audiences across Canada with its stunning tribute to The Band’s final live performance on November 25, 1976 at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco.

Having first headlined at Peterborough Musicfest in 2016, The Last Waltz – A Musical Celebration of The Band Live returns to Del Crary Park on Wednesday, July 20.

Besides a generous selection of The Band’s classic songs, the free admission 8 p.m. concert will also feature a very special tribute to the late Ronnie Hawkins featuring The Weber Brothers, who were members of The Hawks, joined by special guests. Hawkins was among a number of artists who joined The Band onstage for their final performance 48 years ago, performing his signature hit Who Do You Love? in rousing support of the musicians that backed him from 1958 to 1963.

Joined by special guests Chuck Jackson, Johnny Max, Matt Weidinger and Quisha Wint, Anderson (piano/vocals) will lead a stellar nine-member band featuring Levon Helm’s godson Jerome Levon Avis (drums/vocals). Also in the mix are Terry Blersh (guitar), Wayne Deadder (bass) and Rob Gusevs (organ), and a stellar horn section comprised of David Dunlop (trumpet), Simon Wallis (baritone sax), Gord Meyers (trombone) and Chris Murphy (tenor sax).

Anderson et al will perform a number of The Band’s timeless fan favourites, including The Weight, The Night They Drove Ol’ Dixie Down, Up On Cripple Week, Life Is A Carnival, The Shape I’m In, Rag Mama Rag and Ophelia, along with songs that were performed by The Band’s special guests all those years ago.

Formed in Toronto in 1967, The Band – Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson and Richard Manuel – revealed itself as something very special with its critically acclaimed debut album Music From Big Pink. The Band was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. The Last Waltz film, directed by Martin Scorsese, remains celebrated as one of the greatest concert documentaries ever made.