Ringo Starr plays Nashville to help raise money for wildfire victims, gets invited to Opry
Ringo Starr personified a grizzled cowboy singing the blues for a star-studded celebration of his country-influenced latest studio album "Look Up" In Nashville this week.
The artist who skyrocketed to fame as the drummer for The Beatles in 1960s England drew capacity crowds of music icons and passionate fans alike for the two-night event.
"CBS presents Ringo and Friends at The Ryman" will air in the spring as a two-hour CBS television special that will also stream on Paramount+. Proceeds from the one-time, all-star performance of “With a Little Help from My Friends” will support the American Red Cross and those impacted by the California wildfires.
The artist who skyrocketed to fame as the drummer for The Beatles in 1960s England drew capacity crowds of music icons and passionate fans alike for the two-night event. He was even invited to play at the Opry.
Emmylou Harris asked on stage.
Starr paused, laughed and replied, "When is that, July?"
Harris answered: "February," to which he replied, "I'd love to. It's an honor and a pleasure. Thank you."
Starr will make his Opry program debut on Feb. 21.
T Bone Burnett — co-writer and producer of "Look Up" and also a celebrated fountain of American musical inspiration — joyfully stood side-stage as an emcee during the 20 songs performed in two hours on Wednesday night.
The event proved to capacity crowds of music icons and passionate fans alike that Starr has elevated the act of getting by with a little help from his friends.
Artists who took the stage including electric guitar wizard Jack White, Country Music Hall of Famers Paul Franklin, Emmylou Harris and Brenda Lee, award-winning and critically-acclaimed modern stars Sheryl Crow, Rodney Crowell, Mickey Guyton, Sarah Jarosz, Jamey Johnson, Larkin Poe, Billy Strings and The War and Treaty.
Five highlights from the shows:
Carl Perkins' legacy enlivens the event
Starr's timeless musical legacy fits seamlessly into the blend of blues, country and folk music that birthed rock and roll and is engrained in the American consciousness.
So it was fitting that the event celebrated Carl Perkins, the Sun Records icon and initial singer of "Blue Suede Shoes" in 1955.
Billy Strings and Jack White brought their coolly aloof swagger of being in the moment but above the fray of the grooving rhythms underpinning their virtuosity to Perkins songs.
When crooning his album cuts like "Time On My Hands," Perkins delivered a unique vibe mimicking both iconic Houston bluesman Lightnin' Hopkins and Canadian-born country star Hank Snow. Notably, their mainstream successes arrived five years before Perkins' pop acclaim.
Jack White started the evening with Perkins' "Matchbox," dressed in a black-and-white Western-style sportcoat.
Perkins, Starr and Eric Clapton recorded the song for "Blue Suede Shoes: A Rockabilly Session" in London in 1985. Thus, what the crowd witnessed onstage at The Ryman was nothing short of the continuance of a song and style with history that will outlive its players.
Strings' stunning ability to mimic Perkins' vocal abilities breathed jukejoint energy into his take on the country and rock icon's "Honey Don't." It would not have felt out of place if the crowd had broken into a jiving and swing dancing party.
Women dominate the event
The evening also celebrated an era that mightily championed women's role and impact in popular music.
The ghosts of late 1950s-early 1960s country favorites Maybelle Carter and Patsy Cline share space with pop-soul icons The Shirelles. Thus, Brenda Lee and Emmylou Harris, being in the building live and in living color, felt comfortable expanding past those spirits' presence.
Sheryl Crow reprised her 1980s-era role as a backing vocalist (alongside Grammy-winner Molly Tuttle and Grammy-nominee Mickey Guyton) with Starr at the lead on The Beatles' country-inflected "It Don't Come Easy." The trio's presence, plus current-era breakout stars like rocking bluegrass duo Larkin Poe, impressively placed multiple generations of female icons, stars, and legacy torch-bearers in the same room.
When Starr got behind the drums to accompany Crow, Tuttle and Larkin Poe on a cover of The Shirelles' 1960 hit "Boys," it felt and sounded razor sharp, idyllic and good.
The War and Treaty take on Harry Nilsson
The War and Treaty's take on Harry Nilsson's "Without Her" stood out because the duo showcased their latest well-honed talent: Their ability to draw on interpretive brilliance to project the heart of a song to the crowd's soul while somehow skipping the brain. Hall of Fame-caliber producer Al Kooper once noted that Nilsson's vocal reflected "fearless, unflinching virtuosity." Sixty years later, the legendary singer-songwriter is no longer alone in that notion.
The live band for the event featured Dennis Crouch on slap bass, drummer Jim Keltner, guitarists David Mansfield and Daniel Tashian, pianist Mike Rojas and steel guitarist Paul Franklin. Artists who have felt comfortable in front of the sextet include Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Elton Joh and Kacey Musgraves.
Emmylou Harris and 'With a Little Help From My Friends'
As the evening closed, Emmylou Harris, grinning so broadly that her cheeks curled, introduced seemingly every performer in the building — including Starr's friend of 60 years and multiple-era pop chart-topping Country and Rock and Roll Hall Hall of Famer Brenda Lee — onstage to perform The Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" and "With a Little Help from My Friends."
At that moment, Harris' presence and the influence of Starr's whimsical visage, with his fingers in a peace sign perpetually aloft, gave the night a sense of cosmic, incredible wonder.
More than anything, the event taught or reminded the crowd that when harmonies unlock smiles and grooves, tranquility and warmth is unlocked and all feels right with the universe.
How to get tickets to Ringo Starr at the Grand Ole Opry
Tickets for many of the Opry's 2025 events are available via http://opry.com. Ticket prices start at $59.
CBS presents RINGO & FRIENDS AT THE RYMAN, Setlist, 1/16/25
- "Matchbox" (Carl Perkins cover) (w/ Jack White)
- "It Don't Come Easy" (w/ Sheryl Crow, Mickey Guyton, Molly Tuttle)
- "Time On My Hands"
- "Octopus' Garden" (The Beatles cover) (w/ Molly Tuttle)
- "Don't Pass Me By" (The Beatles cover) (w/ Jack White)
- "Thankful"
- "Honey Don't" (Carl Perkins cover) (w/ Billy Strings)
- "Without Her" (w/ The War and Treaty)
- "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" (The Beatles cover) (w/ Sheryl Crow, Molly Tuttle)
- "Boys" (The Shirelles cover) (Ringo on vocals and drums, w/ Sheryl Crow, Larkin Poe, Molly Tuttle)
- "Have You Seen My Baby" (w/ Jamey Johnson)
- "You Don't Know Me at All" (w/ Mickey Guyton)
- "Act Naturally" (The Beatles cover) (with Rodney Crowell, Sarah Jarosz)
- "I Wanna Be Your Man" (The Beatles cover) (with Larkin Poe) (Ringo offstage)
- "What Goes On" (The Beatles cover) (w/ Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, Ringo on drums)
- "Look Up" (w/ Molly Tuttle)
- "Photograph"
- "Yellow Submarine" (The Beatles cover) (w/ Emmylou Harris, everyone)
- With a Little Help From My Friends (The Beatles cover) (with everyone)