Eric Clapton Leads All-Star Tribute to Band’s Robbie Robertson

Last night’s Life Is a Carnival: A Musical Celebration of Robbie Robertson found Eric Clapton, Van Morrison and others paying tribute to the late Band songwriter and guitarist. See videos and a complete look at the four sets of songs, which included material from the Band, Robertson’s solo career and other favorites.

Clapton played the entire third set, with “The Shape I’m In” as a highlight. The bill at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles also included Elvis Costello, Warren Haynes, Mike Campbell, Bruce Hornsby, Don Was and Bobby Weir. Several of these performers will now take the show on the road, leading “Life Is a Carnival: Last Waltz Tour ’24” dates that begin this weekend.

Robertson passed away in August 2023 at 80, leaving Garth Hudson as the sole surviving member of the Band. His three adult children then claimed elder abuse in a legal action against Robertson’s widow. He’d succumbed to cancer just months after a private marriage to Toronto restaurateur Janet Zuccarini.

READ MORE: When the Band’s Robbie Robertson Finally Went Solo

Martin Scorsese produced Life Is a Carnival: A Musical Celebration and will convert the concert into a film, just as he did with 1978’s The Last Waltz. That marked the final appearance of the Band’s five-man lineup. Robertson launched his solo career with 1987’s Robbie Robertson while the Band released a trio of studio albums without him, beginning with 1993’s Jericho.

Robertson also worked on a string of celebrated soundtracks for other Scorsese films, including 1982’s The King of Comedy, 2002’s Gangs of New York, and most recently 2023’s Killers of the Flower Moon.

Watch ‘The Shape I’m In’ From ‘Live is a Carnival’

Watch ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down’ From ‘Live is a Carnival’

Watch ‘The Weight’ From ‘Live is a Carnival’

Watch ‘Stage Fright’ From ‘Live is a Carnival’

Watch ‘It Makes No Difference’ From ‘Live is a Carnival’

Watch ‘I Shall Be Released’ From ‘Live is a Carnival’

‘Life Is a Carnival: A Musical Celebration of Robbie Robertson’ Set List, Oct. 17, 2014

SET 1
“Up on Cripple Creek” (with Eric Church)
“Ophelia” (with Ryan Bingham)
“The Best of Everything” (with Mike Campbell)
“Evangeline” (with Margo Price)
“Acadian Driftwood” (with Alison Russell)
“Straight Down the Line” (with Robert Randolph)
“Who Do You Love?” (with Taj Mahal and Robert Randolph)
“Go Back to Your Woods” (with Bruce Hornsby)
“King Harvest (Has Surely Come)” (with Bruce Hornsby)
“The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” (with Jamey Johnson)

SET 2
“Broken Arrow” (with Daniel Lanois)
“Life Is a Carnival” (with Warren Haynes and Taj Mahal)
“Whispering Pines” (with Lucinda Williams)
“Twilight” (with Nathaniel Rateliff)
“Across the Great Divide” (with Nathaniel Rateliff)
“Rag Mama Rag” (with Jamey Johnson and Bruce Hornsby)
“Baby Don’t You Do It” (with Nathaniel Rateliff)
“Tupelo Honey” (with Van Morrison)
“Days Like This” (with Van Morrison)
“Wonderful Remark” (with Van Morrison)

SET 3
“The Shape I’m In” (with Eric Clapton)
“Out of the Blue” (with Eric Clapton)
“Forbidden Fruit” (with Eric Clapton)
“Chest Fever” (with Eric Clapton)
“Further On Up the Road” (with Eric Clapton)

SET 4
“Forever Young” (with Nathaniel Rateliff, Ryan Bingham and Margo Price)
“It Makes No Difference” (with Jim James)
“Stage Fright” (with Warren Haynes)
“Caravan” (with Warren Haynes)
“When I Paint My Masterpiece” (with Bob Weir)
“The Unfaithful Servant” (with Trey Anastasio)
“Look Out Cleveland” (with Trey Anastasio)
“The Weight” (Mavis Staples, Trey Anastasio and Bob Weir)
“I Shall Be Released” (with all-star ensemble)

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