A two-hour concert special celebrating the legacy of Ringo Starr through the lens of country music will air this spring, and proceeds from the all-star performance of “With a Little Help From My Friends” will benefit the American Red Cross and those impacted by the California wildfires.
Ringo & Friends at the Ryman, which will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ in the United States, will tape on Tuesday and Wednesday at the famed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The special comes a week after Starr released his country album called Look Up, which was produced and co-written by T Bone Burnett. Starr will perform songs from that album along with his solo hits and Beatles classics.
For the TV event, Starr will be joined by Jack White, Sheryl Crow, Brenda Lee, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris, Mickey Guyton, Sarah Jarosz, Jamey Johnson, Billy Strings, The War and Treaty, Larkin Poe and Molly Tuttle. Additional guest artists will be announced at a later date.
“It is always a thrill to play the Ryman, and this time we are going country!” Starr said in a statement. “T Bone has put together a great show. I’m excited to hear my songs done in a country vein and to play with this incredible group of musicians. It will be two nights of peace, love and country music.”
Ringo & Friends at the Ryman will also feature Starr reflecting on country music’s influence on his life, the Beatles and his solo career, while the guest artists will share personal stories of Starr’s impact on their music. The special is produced by Burnett in collaboration with Van Toffler of Gunpowder & Sky. Michael Lohmann will direct.
“There is not a single person in the world who has generated more goodwill than Ringo Starr, and I write this without hyperbole,” Burnett said in a statement. “This Jan. 14 and 15, an extraordinary group of artists is coming together to help demonstrate that at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn. Ringo has been singing and playing country music since before he joined The Beatles, and many, if not most, of his recordings with that band were country songs — ‘Matchbox,’ ‘Honey Don’t,’ ‘Act Naturally,’ ‘What Goes On?,’ ‘Don’t Pass Me By’ — and even ‘Octopus’s Garden’ is a country song. We don’t know which country, but a country song, nevertheless. Nashville is a town full of extraordinary musicians, and a killer band of some of Nashville’s most extraordinary musicians will accompany Ringo and the rest of the artists.”
Toffler, who founded Gunpowder & Sky in 2016 and has produced Emmy-nominated projects like Dolly Parton’s Pet Gala and The Notorious B.I.G. Sky’s The Limit: A VR Concert Experience, added: “Ringo and his bandmates introduced me and countless others to timeless American rockabilly classics, reimagined with their unique Liverpudlian twist on Carl Perkins and many more. It’s an honor to produce this special with Ringo and T Bone, bringing together some of music’s finest, who will undoubtedly play the hell out of Ringo’s songs, including some Beatles classics. I’m pumped for an unforgettable night at the Mother Church of Country Music, and it feels especially poetic to be airing on the same network that introduced the Beatles to America 61 years ago.”
