The Last Waltz Comes To AmericanaFest as Chest Fever Prepares For 50th Anniversary Tour

Although The Band’s original chapter may be over, Chest Fever is opening a new door. The Last Waltz—The Band’s legendary 1976 farewell concert—is coming to the South where some of its musical roots run the deepest. Chest Fever’s acclaimed production will be performed at AmericanaFest in Nashville this September, marking the group’s first-ever festival performance of the iconic show. Shortly after, Chest Fever will embark on an extensive U.S. and Canadian tour, bringing their reimagining of The Band’s music to new cities across North America.

“I’m very excited to bring the show to Nashville and AmericanaFest, especially since The Band are some of the fathers of Americana music. To be able to do the show in Nashville at AmericanaFest, is really cool—and a great honor,” says Daniel “Dude” Cervantes, lead guitarist and singer of Chest Fever. “I think anytime we play this music in the South it’s kind of extra special, knowing that the roots kind of came from there,” adds Jody Bagley, keyboardist and singer for the band. 

AmericanaFest presents Chest Fever with an opportunity to bring together musicians from Nashville and beyond, something that their Last Waltz is known for: “I'm excited to meet a lot of musicians, and a lot of people that love and respect The Band,” Bagley says. “I'm also excited for some guests to join us on stage, and not just for people to just experience our love and our joy for the music, but also how we interpret it, and our versions of it, and how we stay true to it in certain aspects.”

The performance signifies a meaningful first for Chest Fever: “This is the first time we've ever done a festival setting for The Last Waltz,” Cervantes notes. “AmericanaFest is different from other festivals because there's multiple stages—it’s all over the city.” The festival setting thus opens the door to musical collaborations that would be difficult to create anywhere else. 

“The opportunity to potentially collaborate with artists from everywhere, let alone artists in Nashville, can only exist because of a festival,” he adds. “It's kind of the perfect storm—you already have all these amazing, talented musicians covering all types of ground in one city, one place, and during one time.”

Chest Fever’s approach to The Last Waltz is rooted in a direct connection to musicians who were involved with the original production and its musical legacy. Through “secondhand knowledge” shared by close collaborators, like Cindy Cashdollar, Colin Linden, Mike Butler, and Jerome Levon Avis, as well as rock and roll figures like Albert Lee, Scarlet Rivera, and Tom “Bones” Malone, the band has developed a deeper connection to the music—one that continues to shape their performances.

“I feel like we're incredibly lucky to have this direct conduit of musical information that's been shared with us,” Cervantes acknowledges. He specifically recalls working with Tom “Bones” Malone, who wrote the original horn charts for the SNL band and The Last Waltz. “There are certain things that we wouldn’t have incorporated into our playing if it weren’t for that knowledge,” he emphasizes. Working directly with Albert Lee—whom Eric Clapton called “the greatest guitarist in the world”—also comes to mind: “There's something we particularly do in the song ‘Further On Up The Road’, that Albert Lee shared with us from his time touring with Clapton, and then from then on, we've always played it like that.”

The audience itself is also a crucial part of every Chest Fever performance: “A lot of what I look forward to and inspires me the most is how the audience interprets the music, and how excited they are to see us,” says Bagley. “I love to see their anticipation of like, Oh, who's gonna come up and do the Bob Dylan set, or like, who's gonna do Van Morrison?”

That anticipation is particularly significant for a concert that carries the weight of its source material: “We've done this now for many years, and AmericanaFest is arguably the most ambitious venue,” says Cervantes. But regardless of the weight of the performance, a sense of release and satisfaction connects Chest Fever to the original 1976 show: “There's a big moment, in ‘I Shall Be Released,’” Cervantes recalls. “It’s like this Ghostbusters-like beam of light that shoots through the room, like New York City's just been saved. It totally rings true with the original Last Waltz.”

Following AmericanaFest, Chest Fever will take their 21st century Last Waltz back on the road. Beginning in October, the group will re-visit some of their favorite stops in the U.S. and Canada, while expanding into new cities. “It's always fun playing spots we’ve been to on tour—building that audience, and seeing repeat fans,” Bagley says. “But it's also great getting to take it to some new places, and we've got some cool spots in the U.S. that I'm excited to go to.” 

Chest Fever’s consistent tour schedule also provides an opportunity to discover new meaning in the very songs they’ve performed for years: “Sometimes you'll have an experience on the road that will mirror a lyric in the song, and it’s like Oh, I sang that lyric a bunch of times and I kind of thought I knew what it meant, but now like I'm starting to understand it even more,” Bagley reflects. “But there's always more to be discovered. There's always something to be revealed, whether little or large.” Cervantes echoes the same sentiment: “The more we do it—the more we identify with these lyrics, sing them, play the music—the more we start to become it.”

For audiences seeing Chest Fever for the first time, the band emphasizes that The Last Waltz is ultimately a rock-and-roll experience. “At the beginning of The Last Waltz movie, it says ‘Play This Loud’, and people should expect that,” says Cervantes. “People should expect a rock and roll band, so it might be loud, but it will be fun.” It’s that volume and energy that are essential to the live experience: “People will hear the songs they love, and they'll see the magic of those songs being played live, incorporating elements from the original concert and arrangements, but with new and exciting elements,” adds Bagley.

As Chest Fever heads toward its fifth year of performing The Band’s music, the group hopes the project continues to grow and reach new audiences. “For me, I hope that it just gets bigger and bigger,” Bagley shares. “More festivals, more cities, bigger shows, and people just accepting and getting used to us as a band.” Chest Fever also emphasizes their identity as a band in their own right, bringing their own perspectives to The Band’s music: “I hope too for more people to want to hear our recordings and our versions of these songs,” he comments.

“Going into year five, we're playing to more people than we've ever played in our lives, and we just want the music to connect even further,” Cervantes continues. “We'd like for people to identify us with playing this music and playing The Band songs.” But above all, Chest Fever continues performing “for the love”: “We want people to know we’re bringing this music out there on behalf of The Band.” 

Chest Fever will perform The Last Waltz at AmericanaFest in Nashville on September 17 before launching its U.S. and Canadian tour on October 8. Their live album The 21st Century Last Waltz - Live at Massey Hall will be available September 18 on all major streaming platforms. For tickets, tour information, and updates, visit https://chestfeverofficial.com/tour.