Watch Tom Petty Perform His Final Song at His Last Ever Performance, 7 Days Before His Death

One of the most notable attributes of an artist’s legacy is their final live performance. That being so, many musicians who are aware of their departure will market the tour and its concert with an acknowledgment of the end. Though, what about the artists who don’t know it’s their last go? What do they do? Well, a premier example would be Tom Petty.

Petty died from an accidental drug overdose in October of 2017. He unknowingly performed his last show at The Hollywood Bowl in September of that year, just one week before his death. The show went as routine, but now given the context, fans look at it in an entirely different light.

Tom Petty’s 40th Anniversary Tour

The Hollywood Bowl show was in the thick of Petty’s 40th Anniversary Tour, as Petty and his band have been traveling across the country since April. Performing more than 50 shows, Petty was seemingly at the top of his game and performing as if he had not aged a day. It is this attitude and demeanor that was also present in his final performance in Los Angeles.

In his final show Petty performed classics such as “Free Fallin,” “You Wreck Me,” and closing out the show with “American Girl.” The final song both being Petty’s biggest hit and the fan favorite. Given the song’s admiration Petty delivered the energy, as the closing moments of the show included Petty swinging his guitar and hitting the microphone and amplifier in the process. Weirdly enough, it was quite the close to the performance, and ironically, a legendary close to his career.

The Tour’s Wild Success

Other than the Hollywood Bowl performance marking the end of Petty’s career, it also marked one of the most successful tours of his infamous run. In all, the tour grossed $61 million. $5.3 million of the revenue came from the 49,217 tickets he sold in the three shows that took place at The Hollywood Bowl between September 21 and 25.

In one of his final interviews, Petty told Rolling Stone, “I’ve really enjoyed being onstage so much, this tour.” Well, it’s fair to say that given Petty’s commercial and musical appeal, everyone in attendance at these shows had a great time too. Petty’s death was tragic, but at least he was able to go off on a high note and leave the world with a show to remember for the ages.

Photo by Samir Hussein/Getty Images