This above photo was from last year's performance to a sold out crowd. Nov 2023 at George's Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville, AR.
A local Thanksgiving tradition that started a few years ago is back for year three this weekend.
An all-star group of local musicians led by 1 Oz. Jig are set to perform their annual tribute to the Last Waltz, the Band’s legendary star-studded farewell concert and documentary event this Saturday, Nov. 30 at George’s Majestic Lounge.
As it has been in year’s past, the lineup for this year’s event is once again impressive.
In addition to the talented organizers in the 1 Oz. Jig., legendary guitarist Earl Cate (whose band The Cate Brothers collaborated and intermingled with The Band for decades, more on that below), along with Paul Boatright (Punkinhead), Randall Shreve, Ben Miller, Rochelle Bradshaw, Noah Richmond, Rachel Ammons, Dana Louise, Drew Rogers, Patti Steel, Derek Russel, Freeman Boatright, Lee Zodrow, Andrew Cerra, and Kenneth Floyd will perform as part of the tribute this year.
Just as in the original, the local version of the show is expected to include lots of collaboration, improvisation, and guest appearances from the musicians on stage as the evening progresses.
For those who aren’t familiar, the original show was held on Thanksgiving Day in November of 1976 at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. The show, conceived as a farewell show for the band after guitarist/songwriter Robbie Robertson was considering giving up life on the road and pianist/songwriter Richard Manuel had been injured in a boating accident, went on to become what is considered to be among the greatest documentary concert films ever made. The group decided to invite artists they’d performed with previously including (former Fayetteville resident) Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan, along with artists that had influenced their sound over the years including. The guest list grew to include artists such as Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, Paul Butterfield, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Bobby Charles, Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Ronnie Wood, and Neil Young.
The Last Waltz concert was also filmed as a documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Martin Scorsese.
In addition to Ronnie Hawkins’ appearance in the film, there are plenty of other Fayetteville connections to The Band. Members of Hawkins’ band The Hawks, regular performers at his south Fayetteville bar The Rockwood Club, eventually became The Band. Local legends The Cate Brothers, including Earl Cate who will perform at the tribute this month, frequently performed with The Band. The Cate Brothers drummer and singer Terry Cagle, who also plays with Earl & Them, is Levon Helm’s nephew. Helm, The Band singer and drummer who was born near Marvell, Arkansas and grew up in the small community of Turkey Scratch, also famously introduced The Cate Brothers music to a record exec that lead to them later signing with Asylum Records.
Doors open for the tribute at 7 p.m., and music will begin at around 8 p.m. It’s an 18 and up show.
Tickets are $20, on sale now at George’s ticketing site.
