Bob Weir, Lucinda Williams Set for AmericanaFest ‘Last Waltz’ Tribute
The Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir, Lucinda Williams, Dr. John and Buddy Miller are among the artists re-creating the music of the Band this weekend in New York City, as the Americana Music Association holds its third consecutive AmericanaFest NYC at Lincoln Center. In honor of the 40th anniversary of the Band’s final concert, dubbed “The Last Waltz,” Weir and company, along with Howard Johnson, Patty Griffin and Anderson East, will perform songs from Martin Scorsese’s landmark 1978 documentary about the concert.
Presented as a “Midnight Ramble,” a nod to Band drummer Levon Helm’s famous jam sessions at his upstate New York barn, the “Last Waltz” tribute is the centerpiece of Saturday’s shows, which also include sets by Mary Gauthier, Parker Millsap, Those Pretty Wrongs featuring Jody Stephens, and Teddy Thompson and Kelly Jones. On Sunday evening, August 7th, Dwight Yoakam headlines the closing concert, which will also feature up-and-coming duo the Cactus Blossoms. Presented as part of the Lincoln Center Out of Doors series, the performances are free with no tickets required.
AmericanaFest NYC comes just ahead of the 17th annual Americana Music Festival & Conference, set for September 20th to 25th in Nashville, culminating in the 2016 Americana Honors & Awards event at the Ryman Auditorium. Musician-producer T Bone Burnett will deliver the conference’s keynote address, while Jim Lauderdale will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by George Strait.
Lincoln Center Out of Doors began in 1971 as a small festival of street theater in collaboration with Everyman Theater, co-founded by actress Geraldine Fitzgerald. Throughout its 45-year history, Out of Doors has commissioned more than 100 works from composers and choreographers and presented hundreds of major dance companies, and world-music artists, along with celebrated jazz, folk, gospel, blues and rock musicians.