Paul Simon Welcomes Don Everly In Nashville

The long goodbye for Paul Simon continued on Wednesday night at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Simon’s Homeward Bound – The Farewell Tour stop in Music City featured the first guest appearance of the run as well as a tour debut.

Last night’s concert at the Bridgestone Arena was following a similar script as other performances on the tour until the middle of the second encore. Paul reportedly told the crowd most of his heroes including Mickey Mantle, Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali and the Everly Brothers are gone with the exception of one. Simon then brought out Rock & Roll and Country Music Hall of Famer Don Everly.

Paul and Don went on to duet on “Bye Bye Love,” a song written by Felice & Boudleaux Bryant that was The Everly Brothers’ debut recording. Simon’s band backed up the pair with Paul smiling throughout the performance. The collaboration was a reprise of a similar take on “Bye Bye Love” that went down during Simon’s visit to The Ryman in Nashville on May 19, 2011. “Well that makes my night,” Paul said after the guest spot as per the Tennessean. “I got to be Phil Everly for a night.” Phil Everly passed away in 2014.

Another big surprise came next as Paul Simon dusted off a Simon & Garfunkel classic. Simon followed “Bye Bye Love” with his first performance of “Old Friends/Bookends” since May 18, 2016. The concert then came to a close with a solo rendition of “The Sound Of Silence.” Paul Simon now heads abroad for the European portion of his farewell tour.

Watch fan-shot video of Everly’s appearance: