On Thursday, October 17, the Robbie Robertson tribute concert “Life Is a Carnival: A Musical Celebration Of Robbie Robertson” kicked off at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum. It was an absolutely incredible night and a solid nod to the late great Canadian guitarist and composer.
The five-hour concert featured a star-studded cast of musicians and artists. Just a few names include Mavis Staples, Elvis Costello, Jamey Johnson, Daniel Lanois, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, and many more.
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In total, 37 different songs were performed that night. One particularly thrilling set was Eric Clapton’s, which spanned five songs and featured his own touring band (to give the house band a bit of a break, of course). Van Morrison was another showstopper who delivered three excellent songs during his set.
Martin Scorsese Filmed the Event for His Documentary About the Band
Few might know that this particular Robbie Robertson tribute concert was being filmed by none other than famed director Martin Scorsese. In fact, the whole thing was recorded without any retakes by the famed “Goodfellas” director. Even with such short and sparse intermissions, the cameras kept rolling.
Scorsese famously directed the concert film The Last Waltz back in 1976. Scorsese’s doc chronicled The Band’s farewell concert and featured guests like Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Joni Mitchell, and more. That film was produced by Robertson himself.
Scorsese and Robertson were quite famously good friends. Robertson even composed the music in Scorsese’s recent film Killers Of The Flower Moon. That film was released shortly after Robertson’s death. Robertson also collaborated extensively with Scorsese in other films as a composer, including Gangs Of New York and The Irishman.
Sadly, Robertson passed away in 2023 after a long and brave battle with prostate cancer.
“Our friendship began with The Last Waltz, and that was an extremely intense, concentrated experience,” Scorsese said of Robertson in a recent interview. “We were working together to create something new—not just a record of a concert, but a real movie in which the characters played music, and shared the communal joy of making music. […] When we came out of it, there was a bond between us, and it was unbreakable.”
The new concert film produced in Robertson’s honor will be produced by Scorsese, along with Keith Wortman, Jared Levine, and Scooter Weintraub.
Photo by United Artists/Kobal/Shutterstock
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