John Fogerty with Steve Winwood at Tanglewood on September 6, 2026
Legacy artist and music legend Steve Winwood humbly took the historic Tanglewood stage last night and launched into Traffic’s cheerful piano instrumental “Glad” to put patrons in a jovial mood on this final Labor Day weekend performance. Winwood played songs from his three respective classic rock bands – Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, and Blind Faith – as well as a few of his well-known “hit” songs from his mid-80s solo material. His solid backing band consisted of percussionist Edwin Sanz, drummer Tristan Banks, Keyboardist Nate Williams (who also provided some backing vocals), Paul Booth on sax, flute, and keyboards, and his daughter Lily on backing vocals and some percussion and keyboards. The only thing missing was a bass player, as the bass was played on the B3 organ pedals. At 78, Winwood’s vocals are not as strong as they once were, but still cut through and were in good form. After playing two classics – “Glad” and Blind Faith’s “Can’t Find My Way Home” (which included an emotive guitar solo), Winwood addressed the crowd briefly, “Thank you very much. Good evening. We are honored to be here in this historic place playing with John Fogerty and his band,” and made a cheeky comment about them both now being “vintage,” before going into the rhythmically trippy “Why Can’t We Live Together.” Despite some unfortunate monitor issues and his mandoline not cutting through on “Back in the Highlife,” where he had to hold it up to his vocal mic before stage hands were able to remedy the situation, Winwood soldiered on. A versatile multi-instrumentalist, Winwood played Hammond organ, piano, mandolin, and electric guitar, including stunning two solos during “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” where Winwood seamlessly integrated the staccato guitar chords to “Beck’s Bolero” in the final segment of the song for a dramatic and dynamic ending. Although some sang along with the final two songs “Higher Love” (which contained a brief acapella harmony chorus that made both Winwoods smile) and “Gimme Some Lovin’,” Winwood (who kept his stage banter to a minimum) missed an opportunity to get the whole audience singing together or at least orchestrating the familiar “Hey!” in “Gimme Some Lovin’,” something they seemed to be yearning for (he could have taken his own advice: “While you see a chance, take it”). Winwood received a number of well-deserved standing ovations, the final one coming as the band took their collective bows, before exiting the stage with a wave and smile having properly warmed up the venue for the second living legend of the night. https://www.stevewinwood.com
John Fogerty played an absolutely stunning set of his classic songs from Creedence Clearwater Revival and his solo career for his latest Legacy Tour. The show began with a prerecorded video clip interview with Fogerty discussing his songwriting process, and stories behind a few of his most known songs, before he appeared on stage to a droning guitar chord, and launched into “Bad Moon Rising,” which brought the crowd instantly on its feet. Only a few songs in, he pronounced joyfully, “Thank ya’ll so much. I’m happy to be back at Tanglewood. I got my songs back!” He explained was celebrating finally owning his songs after decades of legal battles and due diligence from his wife, and thanked fans for “believing in them, singing them, and keeping them alive for all these years.” Throughout the night, he kept his guitar tech busy, playing various guitars for each songs, including a custom-made Louisville Slugger bat guitar for “Centerfield.” When the tech brought out his 1969 Rickenbacker guitar (the one he played at Woodstock with CCR), he explained how he had serendipitously given away back in the early 70s, and only recently reacquired after his wife painstakingly tracked it down. He stated, “I wrote this song on this guitar,” before counting the band into “Who’ll Stop the Rain.” The 81-year-old Fogerty, who seemed to have found the fountain of youth, was beside himself with happiness and rock’n’roll joy juice, and did not simply dial in his performance, as he rocked out traversing the stage with an energy that was palpable as well as contagious, not only showing his prowess on all his guitars (with intense solos on “Green River,” “I Heard it Through the Grape Vine,” and “Fight Fire,” among others), but also playing harmonica on a number of songs (tearing it up with a fantastic harp solo on the all-out jam “Keep on Chooglin’).
Fogerty established a personal and convivial rapport with the audience, telling stories, showing gratitude, and getting them to sing at various points during the performance. Throughout the night, patrons didn’t need much prompting to belt out many of Fogerty’s iconic classics, and he certainly fed off their lively energy as he roamed and rocked the stage, proving that he not only can still sing these songs (in their original keys!), but also seemed to possess a youthful stamina to put on a solid show. His backing band consisted of younger players from his two sons’ band Hearty Har, who played with youthful energetic fury. The band, led by brothers Shane Fogerty (guitar/vocals) and Tyler Fogerty (guitar / keyboards / tambourine / percussion/lead vocals on “Fight Fire”) and backed by Jesse Wilson (Bass), Ricky Millsap (Drums), Nick Stratton (Guitar), and Douglas Lamothe (Keys), did a great job on Fogerty’s song catalog. Rounding out the band was Rob Stone on saxophone, who garnered heavy applause during spirited solos on “Rock and Roll Girls” and “Joy of My Life” (a song Fogerty wrote for his wife Julie, who sat on stage right for the performance). Shane also played an impressive extended solo on “The Old Man Down the Road,” which had the crowd cheering and his father proudly grinning from ear to ear. When he came out for the encore, he brought out a table with champagne for a toast, stating, “I salute you. I’m blessed. I am the luckiest man in the whole world. I love each and every one of you. Here’s to you.” For the final encore, Fogerty had everyone singing along with the “Rollin,’ rollin,’ rollin’ on a river” refrain of “Proud Mary,” which many continued to hum as they made their way to the exits no doubt feeling the joy John Fogerty put forth with all he had. All-in-all, it was a fabulous night of familiar songs from a talented, unique, and influential artist, and a solid finale for Tanglewood 2026 Popular Artists Series.
Find more tour dates and info here: https://johnfogerty.com
JOHN FOGERTY SETLIST:
Bad Moon Rising
Up Around the Bend
Green River
Born on the Bayou
Who’ll Stop the Rain
Lookin’ Out My Back Door
Rock and Roll Girls
I Heard It Through the Grapevine
Joy of My Life (dedicated to his wife Julie)
Fight Fire (from his early band The Golliwogs)
Keep On Chooglin’
Have You Ever Seen the Rain?
Centerfield
Down on the Corner
The Old Man Down the Road
Fortunate Son
Encores:
Lodi
Proud Mary
STEVE WINWOOD SETLIST:
Glad (Traffic)
Can’t Find My Way Home (Blind Faith)
Why Can’t We Live Together (Timmy Thomas cover)
-band introductions-
I’m a Man (Spencer Davis Group)
40,000 Headmen (Traffic)
Roll With It
Back in the High Life Again
Dear Mr. Fantasy (Traffic)
Higher Love
Gimme Some Lovin’ (Spencer Davis Group)