Ringo Starr Spins Country Gold at the Mother Church

Ringo Starr is getting his moment in Nashville, and it’s about time. 

Starr’s no stranger to country music, of course. After The Beatles disbanded, one of his first stops was Music Row, where he cut his second solo album Beaucoups of Blues with pedal-steel master Pete Drake producing. As a lifelong fan of Nashville’s three-chord export, Starr brought sprinkles of twang to his time in the Fab Four, once suggesting the group cover Buck Owens’ “Act Naturally.” He’s often linked to Beatles songs with a country twist, like the honky-tonkin’ “What Goes On,” fiddle-soaked “Don’t Pass Me By,” frollicking fan-favorite “Octopus's Garden” — and the list goes on.

Now, at age 84, he’s still showing his love for a swing beat and pedal-steel lick — just ask anyone who caught one of the two Ringo Starr & Friends shows Jan. 14 and 15 at the Ryman. 

Starr headlined the Mother Church to celebrate the release of Look Up, a country LP co-produced by T Bone Burnett (who introduced the show) that features Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, Alison Krauss and other tastemaking players. CBS taped the performances for a forthcoming network special, and some proceeds from the shows will go to fire relief efforts in Los Angeles. And with collaborations from Jack White, Sheryl Crow, Emmylou Harris, Brenda Lee and others, it felt like an overdue homecoming for an artist who’s always been at least a little country at heart. 

During Wednesday’s show, Starr doubled as performer and guest of honor — the proverbial glue to a set list of time-tested music that wouldn’t be out of place on an AM dial. He zipped onstage flashing double peace signs before opening the show with a rendition of Carl Perkins’ “Matchbox,” a tune covered by The Beatles in the band’s formative years. White played a rollicking guitar on “Matchbox,” a role he’d adopt for a handful of songs throughout the night, including a crowd-pleasing take on “Don’t Pass Me By” that he took the lead on later in the show. 

Starr would occasionally exit the stage, leaving his songs in capable hands. Tuttle gave “Octopus’s Garden” an old-time twist, while Strings ripped through a rowdy take of “Honey Don’t,” another Perkins number cut by The Beatles. The two later teamed up on a rendition of “What Goes On” that featured Starr behind the drum kit, beaming and singing along. At another point in the 19-song show, Rodney Crowell and Sarah Jarosz were tasked with performing arguably Starr’s best-known link to country music: “Act Naturally.” 

“I feel blessed tonight, with all these great players coming out,” Starr said toward the end of the gig.

The tribute didn’t stick to the path often traveled through Starr’s history, either. Mickey Guyton transformed “You Don’t Know Me at All,” a Starr deep cut originally recorded in the mid-1970s, into a room-shaking anthem. Husband-and-wife duo The War and Treaty covered the Beaucoups of Blues song “Without Her” as a stirring piano ballad. Amid some tributes, the former Beatle popped onstage to croon new tunes, like the earnest “Thankful,” which featured Nashville sister duo Larkin Poe, or the subtly psychedelic titular song “Look Up.” 

Midway through the show, Sheryl Crow echoed a sentiment likely felt by many in the room: “I needed this,” she said, before singing the Beatles tune “I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party” with Tuttle. Crow continued: “I can’t think of anybody who emanates love and peace like Ringo. And it’s not a brand, he really does. He loves it, he believes in it.” 

During the previous night’s show, Emmylou Harris invited Starr to perform on the Grand Ole Opry; he’ll be there Feb. 21. Harris and Brenda Lee (plus a few others who snuck away from the pews to find a spot near a microphone) joined Starr and many of the aforementioned players to lead a stage-to-rafters sing-along of “Yellow Submarine” before turning to the night’s closing number: “With a Little Help From My Friends.” This time, Starr wasn’t the one getting by with help from his friends. It was his friends — onstage at the Ryman — who were getting by with help from his songs.

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