Following the minute of silence, Peter Buck joined the band for this wonderful rendition of Freefalling by Tom Petty.
R42 pic.twitter.com/KzRMHYGKwS— Coldplay (@coldplay) October 3, 2017
Tom Petty’s death has left a deep and ever-lasting hole in the landscape of popular music. For some, it’s all they can do to re-visit his transcendent collection of incredible songs to help cope with the loss. You can count Coldplay as amongst those taking that tack.
Last night the British pop-rock band was onhand at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon performing a show when, midway through, they asked the crowd for a minute of pure silence to honor Petty’s memory. After that, they brought out R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, and together, launched into a poignant cover of the singer’s 1989, Full Moon Fever classic “Free Fallin’.
Coldplay are among the first to pay tribute to Petty live onstage, but you hardly suspect that they’ll be the last. After receiving the news of his death, some of the biggest and most iconic names in music took to social media or issued official statements expressing their grief, loss and shock at his death. In a statement given to Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan said “It’s shocking, crushing news. I thought the world of Tom. He was great performer, full of the light, a friend, and I’ll never forget him.”
You can watch Coldplay and Peter Buck pay tribute to Tom Petty above.
