Foo Fighters, Eddie Vedder + More To Rock Virtual Tom Petty Celebration
Rockers such as Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Lenny Kravitz, the Killers and more will take part in a virtual festival celebrating the music of Tom Petty this Friday (Oct. 23).
The performances will all be part of Tom Petty's 70th Birthday Bash, a two-tiered event honoring what would've been the late Heartbreakers bandleader's first birthday as a septuagenarian (Oct. 20). The virtual fest will be livestreamed from Petty's official website starting at 7PM EST on Friday. Just before, a separate set of performances from different artists will air on Sirius XM's Tom Petty Radio channel beginning at 4:30PM EST.
A note on tompetty.com announced the event this week:
"For the first time ever, the Petty estate is working alongside fans and engaging with the music community to celebrate and pay tribute to Tom Petty," it says. "In 2017, the first annual Tom Petty Birthday Bash debuted in Tom's hometown of Gainesville, FL. Fans gathered for the free, six-hour show of all Petty tunes, performed in the legendary musician's honor. The celebration has grown into a fully-fledged music festival featuring local as well as national acts, with fans traveling across the country to celebrate the life and legacy of Tom Petty."
The statement continues, "Due to the ongoing pandemic, this year's special Tom Petty Birthday Bash, honoring what would have been his 70th birthday (today), will be held virtually on Friday, October 23 with 5 hours of performances, testimonials and tributes to Tom from friends and fans including Stevie Nicks, Chris Stapleton, Post Malone, Foo Fighters, The Killers, Norah Jones, Jason Isbell, a very special performance by Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench and many more."
Never-before-seen live footage of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is also scheduled to air during the video livestream on Friday. Below, see the festival lineup and find out what artists will appear during each portion.
Petty died on Oct. 2, 2017, after an accidental drug overdose at his home in Southern California. Hours before the news was confirmed by his manager, word of the musician's death was prematurely reported across many news outlets as Petty was still clinging to life in a hospital.
Since then, the influential songster's music has been remembered by Corey Taylor, Against Me!, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Trivium's Matt Heafy, Pearl Jam's Mike McCready with KT Tunstall and many more.
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