Paul McCartney, the ever-youthful icon of rock, has kicked off his much-anticipated 2025 North American “Got Back” tour with a bang—starting with a sold-out, phone-free show at the Santa Barbara Bowl on Friday, September 26. For the 4,562 lucky fans who managed to snag tickets (which disappeared within minutes of release), the night was a rare chance to see the former Beatle in a relatively intimate setting—and it was an evening packed with surprises, nostalgia, and musical fireworks.
The Santa Barbara Bowl, nestled amid the city’s hills, is known for its picturesque setting and strict 10 p.m. curfew. But for McCartney and his devoted crowd, none of that mattered. The show, lasting just under two hours, was a testament to the enduring power of his music and the sheer joy he brings to the stage. According to Rolling Stone, the event was announced only two weeks in advance, adding to its mystique and exclusivity. Attendees were required to lock up their phones in Yondr pouches—a move that, while controversial, ensured the night’s magic remained undiluted by screens.
The concert’s most astonishing moment came right at the start: McCartney opened with a full rendition of “Help!”—the first time he’s performed the song in its entirety in public since The Beatles played it in Cardiff, Wales, on December 12, 1965. As Variety notes, McCartney had previously only included a brief, 50-second snippet of the song in a 1990 tribute medley to John Lennon. But this time, he gave fans the whole thing, setting the tone for a night that would blend reverence for the past with the energy of the present.
“It was a you had to be there moment,” Variety reflected, “but a lot more people will be there in the weeks to come.” The show’s opening, with “Help!” followed by the buoyant “Coming Up,” was described as possibly the best one-two punch McCartney has ever delivered to start a concert. Animated visuals, including an apocalyptic cityscape giving way to blooming flowers, and a three-man brass section (the Hot City Horns) added layers of spectacle and sound.
The rest of the setlist was a tour through McCartney’s deep catalog, spanning Beatles classics, Wings anthems, and solo gems. Fans were treated to “Got to Get You Into My Life,” “Let Me Roll It,” “Getting Better,” “Let ‘Em In,” and “My Valentine.” The crowd sang along to “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five” before McCartney shifted gears with the tender “I’ve Just Seen a Face” and the timeless “Love Me Do.” The reflective “Blackbird” and the moving “Now and Then”—described as “the last Beatles song” and featuring contributions from all four Beatles, finalized with director Peter Jackson during the Get Back documentary—provided moments of quiet awe.
True to form, McCartney kept the Beatles spirit alive with “Lady Madonna,” “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” and a raucous “Get Back.” The energy soared with “Let It Be,” the explosive “Live and Let Die” (complete with smoke effects and green lasers), and, of course, the communal anthem “Hey Jude.” The encore was a showstopper: a digital duet with John Lennon on “I’ve Got a Feeling,” followed by “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise),” “Helter Skelter,” “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight,” and “The End.”
Backing McCartney was his seasoned band: Paul “Wix” Wickens on keyboards, Brian Ray on bass and guitar, Rusty Anderson on guitar, and Abe Laboriel Jr. on drums. As Variety pointed out, this ensemble has now played with McCartney “about a thousand years longer than the Beatles were ever together, give or take”—and their chemistry was palpable. The band delivered the classics with fidelity to their original arrangements but added enough fresh flourishes to keep things lively and immediate.
The audience was, perhaps unsurprisingly, a little older on average—many having followed McCartney’s career for decades. Yet, as the night unfolded, it was the infectious “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” that finally got every single person in the venue on their feet, proving that the music’s appeal knows no generational bounds. “Nothing against it, bra,” Variety quipped, “but we would not have pegged it as the completely irresistible, take-no-prisoners barnburner of the night.”
The Santa Barbara show was, in some ways, a “pop-up underplay”—a warm-up for the larger venues to come. The official tour launch is set for September 29 at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, California, before McCartney and company roll through Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Denver, Des Moines, Minneapolis, Tulsa, San Antonio, New Orleans, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Montreal, Hamilton, and finally, a two-night finale at Chicago’s United Center on November 24 and 25. (Tickets for these dates, predictably, are vanishing fast.)
McCartney’s stamina and vocal prowess at 83 are nothing short of remarkable. While some fans might have worried about the effects of age, Variety reassured readers: “Would you believe me if I tell you he’s still got it?” Even if there were a few wobbly notes early on, by the time he reached “Blackbird,” McCartney was in pitch-perfect form. On rockers like “Helter Skelter,” he “is still going for it and seemingly holding almost nothing back.”
There were, of course, some limitations. The Santa Barbara Bowl’s curfew meant the show couldn’t stretch on indefinitely, and the “new songs” McCartney promised were, in reality, mostly “new” only in the sense that “Now and Then” post-dated his last tour. Still, the setlist was a masterclass in pacing and nostalgia, and the production—complete with vertical screens, lasers, and smoke—ensured no one felt shortchanged.
For those who missed out on tickets, there was a small consolation: a handful of last-minute seats were available at the box office for those willing to brave the lines. But for most, the only way to experience the magic will be to catch McCartney as the tour rolls on.
Beyond the tour, McCartney’s creative output shows no signs of slowing. He recently made a cameo in the mockumentary sequel Spinal Tap II: The End Continues and contributed to its companion album, further cementing his reputation as a pop culture fixture who’s always game for something new.
As the “Got Back” tour heads across North America, one thing is clear: Paul McCartney remains a force of nature, defying expectations and age, and proving—night after night—that the music really does live forever.
