“I HAVEN’T PLAYED THIS LIVE IN 35 YEARS!”

And just like that, Paul McCartney tore through decades of silence, stepping onto the stage to honor John Lennon with a Beatles classic. The first note hit, and the crowd exploded—every memory, every heartbreak, every story of youth flooding the arena in a single, electric roar. Time seemed to fold in on itself as decades of anticipation collided with the raw, unforgettable power of live music.

A Tribute to Lennon

Paul McCartney paid tribute to John Lennon in more than one way at his recent concert. During the encore at the Santa Barbara Bowl in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 26, the Beatles legend performed a special duet with his late bandmate, who died in 1980.

McCartney, 83, sang “I’ve Got a Feeling” while a projection of Lennon appeared on screen, using vocals and footage from Peter Jackson’s 2021 Disney+ series The Beatles: Get Back. The performance gave fans the rare chance to hear the two Beatles together again on stage.

A Return to “Help!”

The Santa Barbara concert was announced on Sept. 15 as a preview to McCartney’s Got Back Tour. It also featured the first live performance of Lennon’s “Help!” by McCartney since 1990. According to setlist.fm, other Beatles songs included “Blackbird,” “Love Me Do,” “Lady Madonna,” and “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.”

McCartney balanced the setlist with material from his band Wings, playing “Jet,” “Let Me Roll It,” and “Live and Let Die,” blending his decades of work into one show.

A Powerful Encore

The encore carried even more weight with the Lennon tribute and a string of Beatles favorites. McCartney closed the night with “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)” and “Helter Skelter,” followed by the Abbey Road sequence of “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight,” and “The End.”

After the concert, McCartney posted photos to Instagram. “Amazing night in Santa Barbara on Friday! Notice anything missing from these pictures? 📸,” he wrote, pointing out the absence of cell phones. He added, “Got Back 2025 takes flight in North America tonight. See you soon, Palm Desert!”

The Tour Ahead

The Got Back Tour will feature 19 shows across 16 cities, with stops in Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Denver, New Orleans, and Montreal, before ending in Chicago with two nights.

“With songs like ‘Hey Jude,’ ‘Live and Let Die,’ ‘Band on the Run,’ ‘Let It Be’ and so many more, the Paul McCartney live experience is everything any music lover could ever want from a rock show and more: hours of the greatest moments from the last 60 years of music — dozens of songs from Paul’s solo, Wings and of course Beatles songbooks that have formed the soundtracks of our lives,” a press release said in July.

In February, McCartney appeared at the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary special, performing “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight,” and “The End.” Just days earlier, he surprised fans with three sold-out shows at the Bowery Ballroom in New York.