Just a few days after being in New York for a special Colbert Report, Sir Paul McCartney rushed to Tennessee to perform Friday night on the second day of the Bonnaroo music festival. McCartney performed a full show, commanding everyone’s attention. Festival organizers didn’t dare schedule any acts to perform on the other stages while the former Beatle sang.
McCartney performed 38 songs during his two-and-a-half hour set, running through classic Beatle tunes, Wings hits and other solo tracks. According to The New York Times, the show was still preceded by his usual opening act - a DJ playing remixes of hits while pictures of McCartney are shown behind him. This lasted 40 minutes before McCartney took the stage, wowing with “Eight Days A Week,” a Beatles song he only recently started performing.
“Your Mother Should Know” and “Lovely Rita” also made appearances, as did the Wings hit “Junior’s Farm.” He also sang “Midnight Special” and “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!.”
USA Today reports that McCartney chatted with the audience during the show, telling the famous story of seeing Jimi Hendrix perform “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” just days after the album was released. He also said that “My Valentine” is for his current wife, Nancy Shevell, and that “Maybe I’m Amazed” was for the late Linda McCartney.
He wrapped the show with “Yesterday,” “Helter Skelter” and the Abbey Road medley.
The Bonnaroo festival continues this weekend. Jack Johnson was picked as the headlining act for today, since Mumford & Sons had to cancel on short notice.
"So the circumstances are pretty unfortunate. I was really looking forward to seeing Mumford & Sons!" Johnson said in the media tent, reports Billboard.
image: CBS