In 2018, Paul Simon embarked on his Homeward Bound – The Farewell Tour, which concluded with two nights at Madison Square Garden and a final performance at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Though billed as a farewell, Simon remained active, with select dates in 2019, including an appearance at Outside Lands. In 2022, he was honored with a GRAMMY Salute at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood.
Last year marked a more formal return to the stage with his Quiet Celebration Tour, a run of intimate performances in theaters and symphony halls. Many cities hosted Simon for two or three nights, while venues such as Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Beacon Theatre in New York City, and Benaroya Hall in Seattle each welcomed him for five-night residencies. The tour included a handful of Canadian dates but remained otherwise confined to North America.
After an eight-month break, Simon resumed the Quiet Celebration Tour on April 9 in Prague. Following a seven-week stretch across Europe and the U.K., he returned stateside on June 3 in Stamford, Connecticut. Just days later, on June 7, Simon made his long-awaited return to the Hollywood Bowl—his first appearance there since 2018—for one of the tour’s largest audiences. Two nights later, he brought the show to The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park in San Diego. The evening served as both a celebration of a six-decade career and an intimate exercise in storytelling.
The Quiet Celebration Tour is structured in two distinct sets. The first is acoustic and centers around Seven Psalms, Simon’s 2023 album, performed in full. Taking the stage at 7:15 p.m. while the sun still lingered, Simon appeared in a suit, delivering the meditative work with quiet precision. He was joined by his wife, Edie Brickell, for the album’s closing moments on “The Sacred Harp” and “Wait.”
Following an intermission, Simon returned in a more relaxed outfit, complete with a baseball cap, signaling a tonal shift. The second set expanded into his broader catalog, with longtime collaborator Bakithi Kumalo—the last surviving member of the original Graceland band—joining on bass, filling a role absent from Seven Psalms. The set opened fittingly with the title track from Graceland, Simon’s best-selling solo album. While the core of the setlist remains consistent, a handful of songs rotate nightly, keeping each performance unique.
Highlights from the second set included “Slip Slidin’ Away,” the Simon & Garfunkel classic “Homeward Bound” (featuring Brickell), and “Under African Skies.” The energy swelled with “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes,” which closed the main set. Brickell returned for the encore, opening with “Me & Julio Down by the Schoolyard,” followed by “Something So Right.” Simon then closed the evening with two of his most enduring works, “The Boxer” and “The Sound of Silence.”
The Quiet Celebration Tour is set to conclude with two nights at Ravinia in Highland Park, Illinois, on July 17 and 18.
In addition to the tour, Paul Simon: The Quiet Celebration Concert—a nearly two-hour live concert film captured during the run—will premiere in the U.S. on Disney+ and Hulu on June 26.
Photo by Jake Edwards
