The music community has honored what would have been the late Tom Petty’s 70th birthday with a virtual birthday bash for the ages. Petty, who would have turned 70 on October 20th, tragically passed away days before his 67th birthday due to cardiac arrest caused by an accidental drug overdose. He left behind his wife, two daughters, and a lasting legacy in rock ‘n’ roll.
The event was held on October 23rd and kicked off at 4:30 PM EST on SiriusXM’s Tom Petty Radio station and was hosted by David Fricke, Mark Felsot, Jason and Sarah Hedges. The audio broadcast featured a long list of guests, including: Grouplove, The Killers, The Raconteurs and more.
At 7:00 PM EST the party moved to a video stream on Amazon Music’s Twitch Channel and TomPetty.com, with performances and tributes from an all-star lineup of Petty’s fans. The performance lineup included: Adam Sandler, Beck, Foo Fighters, and Norah Jones and more. Among the special guests listed were: Eddie Vedder, Kiefer Sutherland, Lenny Kravitz, Post Malone, and Stevie Nicks.
Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench, Petty’s longtime bandmates in the Heartbreakers, also performed. Earlier this week, Rolling Stone asked Heartbreakers drummer Steve Ferrone if they’d consider a reunion. He replied “His fans, when Tom passed, were incredibly sensitive and loving. I’m still in touch with some of the fans. They are really, really nice people, good people. Tom loved his fans and his fans loved him. I don’t think it would be fair for us not to do something.”
For the last three years, fans held their own birthday bash for the late icon in his hometown of Gainesville, FL, but the Covid-19 pandemic prompted the move to a virtual celebration. The Petty estate said in a statement that it hopes the event will raise money and awareness for Save Our Stages, an organization that helps performers dealing with financial insecurity during the pandemic.
