This Beloved Americana Jam Band Is Calling It Quits After One Last Tour

November 12, 2025, 4:23pm

After nearly six decades, one of Led Zeppelin’s favorite bands is preparing to take their final bow. Little Feat is hanging it up for good following a lengthy farewell tour scheduled to kick off next spring.

However, the Americana jam band has no intention of going out quietly. Their Last Farewell Tour, launching April 10 in Orlando, will make its way around the globe for at least two years.

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I have been a fan since the 70's, one of the best rock bands of all time. So much great music, if you're in a bad mood turn on some Little Feat it will go away.
— Dave Duty (@daveduty44) November 12, 2025

“It’s not an immediate cutoff,” co-founder Bill Payne told Rolling Stone. “If it were, I would have said, ‘No, absolutely not.’ But when I really thought about it, if you play a venue, you just knock it off your list and don’t have to jump on a bus and go places every night, which is probably not a bad thing. And you can do residencies, if they’re available, or play music with other people or do special events. It’s age-related, but as a business model, I guess prices go up, since people think, ‘Oh, we need to see those guys.’”

Little Feat Has Been Around For Nearly Six Decades

Payne formed Little Feat in 1969 Los Angeles with lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George, bassist Roy Estrada, and drummer Richie Hayward. The band’s most recognizable lineup consisted of George, Payne, Hayward, bassist Kenny Gradney, guitarist and vocalist Paul Barrere, and percussionist Sam Clayton.

By the spring of 1976, Little Feat was opening for The Who on the U.S. leg of their The Who by Numbers Tour. However, escalating tensions led to the departure of Payne and guitarist Paul Barrere in 1979, and the group subsequently disbanded. Shortly after, Lowell George died of a heart attack on June 29, 1979. He was 33 years old.

Little Feat’s surviving members would go on to revive the band in 1987, going on to release nine more studio albums. Its most recent came in May 2025 with Strike Up the Band.

“It’s so incredible that they’re still playing and they’re all such good musicians,” said Lowell George’s daughter, Inara. “But all beautiful things come to an end, and they’re doing it on their own terms, which is a great thing.”

Featured image by Rob Kim/Getty Images for The Recording Academy