Ringo Starr played a pair of special concerts at the famous Ryman Auditorium in Nashville this week in celebration of his new country album Look Up. As previously reported, the legendary Beatles drummer was joined by a variety of guest artists at the shows, which were filmed for an upcoming CBS special schedule to premiere this spring.
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To promote the album and shows, Starr and his Look Up collaborator T Bone Burnett took part in a Zoom press conference at the Ryman on Wednesday, January 15, that was attended in person and remotely by many members of the media.
Starr has been a country music fan since he was a kid, and early in the Q&A, he was asked why he became enamored with the genre.
“It was emotional,” Ringo noted. “It’s emotional music … and I’m quite an emotional person myself.”
Starr then named some of the country artists he liked when he was young, including Hank Williams and Hank Snow.
Ringo added, “Kitty Wells, oof! Who can sing better than Kitty Wells? All that emotion. It was great. So that’s why I loved [country music].”
About Playing at the Ryman Auditorium
Starr also talked about how special it was for him getting to perform at the historic Ryman. Ringo reminisced about the first time he played at the venue, back in July 2012 with his All Starr Band.
“I just felt incredible to be at the Ryman, because I came [into] the country music long before most of you were born,” he said. “And just to be here is such a blessing, and the vibe here is so great. … I just feel an extra little beat in my heart every time I play here. [It’s] so far out.”
About Working with T Bone Burnett on the New Album
As previously reported, Look Up was produced by Burnett, who also wrote or co-wrote nine of the album’s 11 tracks.
Starr said it was a great experience working with Burnett, who has won more than a dozen Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year honors for his production work on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack and the Robert Plant-Alison Krauss collaboration Raising Sand.
“It seemed like there was no hardship, and there was no rows or [being] angry with each other,” Ringo said. “He was doing everything I loved. He’d send [a track] to me, I would do what I do … I play drums and I sing the song and he’d love that. So we were like going along on a great ride together.”
Meanwhile, Burnett shared which track on Look Up was his favorite, while also praising Starr’s vocals.
“I think ‘Time on My Hands’ [is my favorite],” T Bone noted. “[Y]ou can hear [Ringo] singing. … It’s very clear. You know, Ringo’s got beautiful diction. You can understand every word he says. He’s got beautiful tone.”
Look Up was released on January 10. It features guest appearances by a variety of acclaimed singers and musicians, including Krauss, Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, Larkin Poe, and Lucius.
More About the Ryman Shows and the Upcoming TV Special
Starr’s concerts at the Ryman took place on January 14 and 15. At the shows, Ringo was joined by a variety of guest stars, including Sheryl Crow, Emmylou Harris, Jack White, Jamey Johnson, Brenda Lee, Rodney Crowell, Mickey Guyton, The War and Treaty, and Sarah Jarosz, as well as Strings, Tuttle, and Larkin Poe.
The concerts featured performances of songs from Look Up, as well as renditions of Beatles songs and hits from Starr’s solo career.
The special is titled Ringo & Friends at the Ryman. The two-hour show will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ sometime in the spring of 2025. In addition to performances from the concerts, the special will feature Starr discussing how country music has influenced his life, as well as The Beatles’ music and his solo work. Various guest artists also will be featured talking about the impact Ringo and The Beatles have had on their music.
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