On Wednesday, June 11, 2025, the world said goodbye to one of the most masterful musicians of all time, Brian Wilson. Roughly three years before his passing, Brian Wilson played his final show on July 26, 2022, at the Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan. Before this performance, Wilson had taken a nearly 25-year break from touring. However, in 1999, Wilson got back on the road and consistently performed from then until his last show in 2022.
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During his final performance, Wilson performed for 90 minutes and played numerous Beach Boys’ classics as well as his infamously written track, “God Only Knows”. Although, per reports, it was impossible to ignore the elephant in the room—Wilson’s condition. According to UCR, Wilson “sat rigid and expressionless at his white piano, barely acknowledging his band members or the audience.”
Furthermore, in videos of the performance, viewers can see a stiff Brian Wilson struggle walking on and off the stage with his walker. While the performance was, of course, still met with positive reception and still exists as a monumental moment, given that it was Wilson’s last show, it was and still is difficult not to give attention to Wilson’s apparent declining health. Though, admirably, Wilson still went up on stage and delivered, even if it wasn’t at the best of his capabilities.
The Following Events After Brian Wilson’s Final Show
The day after the concert, Wilson and his team announced the cancellation of all his remaining tour dates. Furthermore, Wilson’s daughter, Carnie Wilson, stated that Wilson’s touring future was very unlikely during an episode of the BeachBoys Talk podcast in January of 2023.
Before those announcements, Chicago’s Robert Lamm, who was a co-headliner during the Beach Boys’ 2022 tour, stated, “This is kind of like… it could be a goodbye, Brian’s not singing very much, and he’s awfully immobile now. So to see him in his condition is not fun, but he’s been gradually coming around and we’re able to have short conversations before he goes on, and that’s a treat,” per UCR.
Two years later, in 2024, Wilson was diagnosed with dementia. Three months later, he entered into a conservatorship. While Wilson’s final performance was certainly tragic in a sense, it was also celebratory. Celebratory as it shined light on an illustrious career that spanned over two generations. And despite his health issues, Brian Wilson knew he owed it to his fans to perform one final time. Needless to say, he did just that, and he did it for his fans both in attendance and watching vicariously through a screen.
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
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