It’s almost enough to un-break your heart, if you’re a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers fan. The four members of the original/classic lineup of Petty’s longtime band will reunite on stage for the first time in more than 20 years this week, fronted by Chris Stapleton for an opening performance at Wednesday night’s Americana Honors & Awards show in Nashville. That’s happening in conjunction with the announcement of a boxed set due in November that will delve into unreleased material from the group’s earliest days, “Origins 1971-1978.”
The performance on the Americana Awards will have Stapleton backed by Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Stan Lynch and Ron Blair. For the finale of the program several hours later, the four OGs will be joined by two latter-day Heartbreakers, Steve Ferrone and Scott Thurston.
Heartbreakers fans don’t have to experience too much FOMO about missing the on-stage reunion: The Americana Awards will be streamed live via video and audio through several outlets, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 PT. It can be seen on NPR Music’s YouTube channel and the Americana Music Association‘s Facebook page; the audio feed can be found on SiriusXM’s Outlaw Country channel and clear-channel WSM-AM as well as Nashville’s FM stations WRLT and WMOT.
An additional appearance by the four original Heartbreakers will take place as part of the AmericanaFest Thursday morning, as Tench, Campbell, Blair and Lynch will take part in a panel, “Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: 50 Years.” (The panel will not be livestreamed.)
