Paul Simon began his first tour since 2018-2019 with a transcendent 19-song performance on Friday night at New Orleans’ historic Saenger Theater.
He devoted the opening set of this aptly named Quiet Celebration Tour to 2023’s Seven Psalms, a gorgeous uninterrupted 33-minute meditation on struggles with faith that had never been performed in its entirety. After a brief intermission, Simon returned with an engaging – and a bit more lively – second set that alternated between his most familiar songs and some intriguing deep cuts.
He probably wouldn’t have been allowed to leave the ’20s-era Emile Weil-designed theater without playing tried-and-true favorites like “Slip Slidin’ Away” and “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard.” But Simon also made room for “Train in the Distance” from 1983’s Hearts and Bones, “Under African Skies” from 1986’s Graceland and “Spirit Voices” from 1990’s Rhythm of the Saints, among other lesser-known gems.
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Simon mounted Homeward Bound: The Final Tour, which included a September 2018 stop at the nearby Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, after suffering since-resolved issues with his hearing. This new tour is smaller in scale, with 50 concerts held on multiple nights at midsized venues, but far more intimate.
He spoke almost confidentially at the sold-out 4,000-seat Saegner when sharing stories about “St. Judy’s Comet” (from 1973’s There Goes Rhymin’ Simon), and “The Late Great Johnny Ace” and “Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War,” both also from Hearts and Bones.
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Edie Brickell, who scored a Top 10 hit in 1988 with “What I Am,” joined her husband on stage for three songs: “The Sacred Harp” and “Wait” were among six tracks from Seven Psalms that made their live debuts. (Simon had performed “Your Forgiveness” in March 2024 on the Late Show With Stephen Colbert.) Brickell also took over for Linda Ronstadt for the soaring duet on “Under African Skies.” (They changed the lyric from Ronstadt’s hometown of “Tucson, Arizona” to Brickell’s, “Dallas / Fort Worth.”)
Simon only returned to his foundational work with Simon and Garfunkel three times. “Homeward Bound,” from the main set, became a sweet singalong in New Orleans. He closed out the show with a two-song encore of “The Boxer” and “The Sound of Silence,” the latter of which Simon performed alone.
His Quiet Celebration Tour continues tonight (April 5) in New Orleans, with upcoming stops in Denver, Kansas City, Dallas, Nashville, Milwaukee and Toronto, among others.
Paul Simon, April 4, 2025, New Orleans
Set 1: Seven Psalms
“The Lord”
“Love Is Like a Braid”
“My Professional Opinion”
“Your Forgiveness”
“Trail of Volcanoes”
“The Sacred Harp”
“Wait”
Set 2:
“Graceland”
“Slip Slidin’ Away”
“Train in the Distance”
“Homeward Bound”
“St. Judy’s Comet”
“The Late Great Johnny Ace”
“Spirit Voices”
“Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War”
“Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard”
“Under African Skies”
Encore:
“The Boxer”
“The Sound of Silence”
Top 40 Singer-songwriter Albums
From Bob Dylan and John Lennon to Joni Mitchell and Billy Joel.
Gallery Credit: UCR Staff
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