Little Feat Announces The Last Farewell Tour
The legendary band also shared a new single written by late co-founding member Lowell George.
By Andy Kahn Nov 12, 2025 • 9:32 am PST
Photo by Fletcher Moore
Little Feat will begin the process of retiring from the road by embarking on The Last Farewell Tour. The band confirmed an initial run of 2026 shows and shared a new single written by late co-founding member Lowell George.
“Everybody and their brother is retiring now,” co-founder Bill Payne told Rolling Stone. “But I’ll be honest, I resisted it at first. I’ll be 77 in March, and [guitarist] Fred Tackett is 80 and [bassist] Kenny [Gradney] will be 76 next year. But what’s the rush on farewelling this thing? It’s not an immediate cutoff.”
The farewell tour, which Payne told Rolling Stone will last several years, begins with festival appearances on two themed cruises in January 2026. The initial run picks up in April and continues into May with stops throughout Florida, Tennessee, Virginia, Alabama, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa and Illinois, as well as an appearance at Dark Star Jubilee in Ohio.
Click below for ticketing information for Little Feat’s The Last Farewell Tour dates.
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The newly shared Little Feat single, “Feathers And A Smile,” is previously unreleased song written by Lowell George, who died in 1979 at age 34. George wrote it as part of the “Crazy Captain Gunboat Willie” suite from the band’s 1971 self-titled debut album.
The track was includes contributions from Payne on piano and vocals, Tackett on mandolin, and Scott Sharrard on dobro, with vocals from Lowell George’s daughter Inara George.
“There’s a sweetness to it, an innocence, that feels like it’s indicative of an earlier time,” Inara George told Rolling Stone. “The imagery is a little more sixties. Part of my dad’s storytelling is that he used words that were not always expected, which is something I admire.”
Stream “Feathers And A Smile,” and read a statement from Little Feat regarding The Last Farewell Tour, below:
Playing is the joy and satisfaction of touring, but it comes with the hard part — travel, the endless miles on a bus. There’s no dodging the wear and tear, and Little Feat has been playing for quite a while.
With tongue stuck somewhat in cheek, Little Feat announces “The Last Farewell Tour,” which will begin in April 2026.
It’s definitely not an absolute, never-gonna-play again statement. This wind-down will take several years to accomplish, and while it does, Feat will continue to perform and record as long as they are able. It’s a retirement from the travel of touring.
Little Feat began in 1969 when Frank Zappa told Lowell George he should start his own band. As Lowell happened to have a pretty small shoe size, the name became obvious. He found a partner/keyboard player in Bill Payne and a drummer in Richie Hayward.
After a few transitions, they added Kenny Gradney (bass), Sam Clayton (percussion), Paul Barrere (guitar) and eventually Fred Tackett (guitar), and began a now 56-year journey that has produced dozens of songs – “Dixie Chicken,” “Oh, Atlanta,” “Willin’,” “Fat Man in the Bathtub” – and a thousand memories. One result was one of the best live albums in the history of rock ‘n’ roll, Waiting for Columbus.
The road (see above!) is hard, and it cost them first Lowell George in 1979, Richie Hayward in 2010, and Paul Barrere in 2019. The everlasting Little Feat groove demanded playing, and they added Scott Sharrard (guitar) and Tony Leone (drums), and may well be playing at the very height of their powers, recently releasing a well-received album of original material, Strike Up the Band. Their inimitable blend of rock, New Orleans swamp boogie, jazz, and blues is not only unique but an ongoing source of delight.
Feat has an incredible legacy of music and the celebration that comes with it, and the near future will see them honoring their own past with more playing. But it’s time to give the trusty tour bus, however comfy, a rest.
