Martin Scorsese will direct the filming of a Robbie Robertson tribute concert in L.A. Thursday night for a future release, it was announced Tuesday morning.
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The filming of “Life Is A Carnival: A Musical Celebration Of Robbie Robertson,” a Blackbird Presents production, may provide a kind of bookend to the the first movie Scorsese did with Robertson, when he directed the concert film “The Last Waltz,” which commemorated the last concert the singer-songwriter-guitarist did with his group the Band in 1976.
Prior to the announcement that he would spend the evening overseeing the filming, Scorsese was already serving as one of the executive producers of the concert, along with Jared Levine, Keith Wortman and Scooter Weintraub.
The lineup of artists performing at the show at the Kia Forum Thursday includes Trey Anastasio, Eric Church, Eric Clapton, Warren Haynes, Bruce Hornsby, Jim James, Daniel Lanois, Taj Mahal, Van Morrison, Margo Price, Robert Randolph, Nathaniel Rateliff, Allison Russell, Mavis Staples, Bobby Weir and Lucinda Williams.
The house band will feature Ryan Bingham, Jamey Johnson, Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Don Was, John Medeski, Dave Malone, Terence Higgins, Cyril Neville, Mark Mullins and the Levee Horns.
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Robertson acted as either music supervisor or scorer for Scorsese films in the decades from “The Last Waltz” through his death in 2023, the last of which was the score for “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Robertson’s posthumous nomination for best original score for that film was his first.
“I mean, we’re in awe ourselves that our brotherhood has outlasted everything,” Robertson said of his association with Scorsese in an interview with Variety shortly before he died. “You know, we’ve been there. We’ve been through it. We’ve been there and back. Our story is a trip. … I am so proud of our friendship and our work. It’s been just a gift in life. And at the same time, I didn’t have to just do what he does. I get to do what I do with other people, too. So, yeah, I am unbelievably grateful for this opportunity.”
The format in which a film of the Robertson concert might come out was not revealed as part of the announcement. Blackbird Presents has specialized in recent years in all-star tribute concerts, many of which have been filmed, some getting theatrical releases prior to hitting VOD, like the Willie Nelson 90th birthday celebration filmed at the Hollywood Bowl and eventually seen in theaters. Having a director of Scorsese’s ilk involved certainly heightens the chances a Robertson film will hit cinemas.
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