CBS PRESENTS “RINGO & FRIENDS AT THE RYMAN,” A TWO-HOUR SPECIAL FEATURING RINGO STARR AND SOME OF COUNTRY MUSIC’S BIGGEST NAMES, AIRING MONDAY, MARCH 10
Featuring Performances and Duets of Songs Spanning Starr’s Legendary Career, Including Beatles Classics and Songs from His New Country Album Look Up
Guest Stars Include Music Icons Sheryl Crow, Rodney Crowell, Mickey Guyton, Emmylou Harris, Sarah Jarosz, Jamey Johnson, Brenda Lee, Larkin Poe, Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, The War And Treaty and Jack White
Proceeds from a One-Time, All-Star Performance at The Ryman of “With a Little Help from My Friends” Will Support the American Red Cross and Those Impacted by the California Wildfires
Taped Jan. 14 and 15 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, the Special Is Produced by Ringo Starr, T Bone Burnett and Gunpowder & Sky’s Van Toffler
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| Photo courtesy of CBS |
CBS presents RINGO & FRIENDS AT THE RYMAN, a two-hour special celebrating the music and legacy of Ringo Starr through the lens of country music, airing Monday, March 10 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S*. For a free trial of Paramount+, visit ParamountPlus.com.
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| Photo courtesy of CBS |
Taped on Jan. 14 and Jan. 15 at the historic Ryman Auditorium – the “Mother Church of Country Music” – this once-in-a-lifetime event features exclusive performances of Ringo’s solo hits, Beatles classics and tracks from his recently released country album Look Up, produced and co-written by T Bone Burnett.
Proceeds from a one-time, all-star performance at The Ryman of “With a Little Help from My Friends” will support the American Red Cross and those impacted by the California wildfires.
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| Photo courtesy of CBS |
An all-star lineup of some of music’s hottest names join Ringo onstage, including Sheryl Crow, Rodney Crowell, Mickey Guyton, Emmylou Harris, Sarah Jarosz, Jamey Johnson, Brenda Lee, Larkin Poe, Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, The War And Treaty, Jack White and more. Together, they reimagine some of music’s most iconic songs, such as “Boys,” “Act Naturally,” “With a Little Help from My Friends,” “Yellow Submarine,” “Don’t Pass Me By” and “It Don’t Come Easy,” blending classic rock with a country twist.
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| Photo courtesy of CBS |
“It is always a thrill to play the Ryman and this time we are going country!” said Ringo. “T Bone has put together a great show. It was two nights of peace, love and country music.”
“There is not a single person in the world who has generated more goodwill than Ringo Starr, and I write this without hyperbole,” said Burnett. “On Jan. 14 and 15, an extraordinary group of artists came together to help demonstrate that at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn. Ringo has been singing and playing country music since before he joined The Beatles, and many, if not most, of his recordings with that band were country songs – “Matchbox,” “Honey Don’t,” “Act Naturally,” “What Goes On?,” “Don’t Pass Me By” and even “Octopus’s Garden” is a country song. We don’t know which country, but a country song, nevertheless. Nashville is a town full of extraordinary musicians, and a killer band of some of Nashville’s most extraordinary musicians accompanied Ringo and the rest of the artists.”
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| Photo courtesy of CBS |
“Ringo and his bandmates introduced me and countless others to timeless American rockabilly classics, reimagined with their unique Liverpudlian twist on Carl Perkins and many more,” said Toffler. “It’s an honor to produce this special with Ringo and T Bone, bringing together some of music’s finest who played the hell out of Ringo’s songs, including some Beatles classics. It feels especially poetic to be airing on the same network that introduced the Beatles to America 61 years ago.”
In addition to the performances, the special features Ringo reflecting on country music’s influence on his life, The Beatles and his solo career. Guest artists share their personal stories of Ringo’s impact on their music, offering fans a unique look at his legacy. Inspired by T Bone Burnett to explore a new musical chapter, Ringo showcases his extraordinary journey through a country music lens.
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| Photo courtesy of CBS |
RINGO & FRIENDS AT THE RYMAN is produced by T Bone Burnett in collaboration with Van Toffler of Gunpowder & Sky. Michael Lohmann (Nashville, Boston Legal and Patsy & Loretta) directs.
Throughout his career he has received nine GRAMMY® Awards and has twice been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – first as a Beatle and then as solo artist. Between 1970 and 2023, Ringo has released 20 solo studio records and 4 consecutive EP’s in 2020, 2021 and 2023. He has acted in over 15 films, received an Academy Award®, and has been nominated as an actor for an Emmy®. Ringo has published 8 books; had a stint as a male fashion model, and that same year went behind the lens as the photographer for some Foo Fighters PR photos. Ringo is also a visual artist and has had numerous exhibitions of his work and his “Peace Sculpture” is on permanent display in the Beverly Hills Park. In 2008 Ringo began dedicating his July 7 birthday to promoting Peace and Love and the movement has grown to include events all over the planet and into the stars with support from NASA. In 2018, Ringo was knighted and in 2019 he celebrated 35 years of touring with his All Starr Bands. In 2022 Ringo received an honorary degree as a Doctor of Music from Berklee College of Music and earlier he was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame with the Joe Chambers Musicians Legacy Award.
Ringo Starr also had the honor of being the first narrator of the British dub of the iconic Thomas the Tank Engine children's television series.
About T Bone Burnett
Throughout more than 50 years in music and entertainment, T Bone Burnett has earned an unparalleled reputation as an innovative artist, songwriter, producer, performer, film and concert producer, record company owner and artists’ advocate. He’s worked and collaborated with musicians spanning many genres, such as the aforementioned Bob Dylan, Elton John, Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Ringo Starr, B.B. King, Tony Bennett, k.d. lang, Elvis Costello, Taylor Swift, Ryan Bingham, Steve Earle and Leon Russell. Burnett’s highly successful and acclaimed work in film throughout the past 30 years includes his collaborations with the Coen Brothers on The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Cold Mountain, The Hunger Games, Walk The Line, Inside Llewyn Davis and Crazy Heart, for which he also served as one of the film’s producers. He has won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and 13 Grammy Awards.
About Gunpowder & Sky
Gunpowder & Sky is an independent studio that develops and produces award-winning film, television and audio projects, as well as live and experiential events.
Founded by Van Toffler and Floris Bauer in 2016, Gunpowder & Sky has released more than 60 feature films and series in theaters and in partnership with leading services such as Apple, HBO, Netflix, Max, Paramount+, MTV, Hulu, Peacock, Sky, Showtime, Spotify, Amazon, Meta, YouTube, Audible, Roku, CBS, Discovery, BBC and Sky.
With its robust slate of documentaries and unscripted content, Gunpowder & Sky is currently in production on numerous projects including two larger-than-life audio music stories, “Lighters in the Sky” and “Shelved”; and multiple VR projects.
Other notable projects include the CBS variety show hosted by Dolly Parton, “Dolly Parton’s Pet Gala”; Sheryl, the intimate documentary of song and sacrifice of musical icon Sheryl Crow; the Emmy-nominated The Notorious B.I.G. Sky’s The Limit: A VR Concert Experience, a state-of-the-art immersive concert and narrative experience; 69: The Saga of Danny Hernandez; Lil Peep – Everybody’s Everything; the action thriller inspired by one of the largest bank robberies in U.S. history, Heist 88; the Sam Raimi horror anthology series 50 States of Fright; Jeff Baena’s medieval dark comedy, The Little Hours starring Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, Aubrey Plaza, John C. Reilly and Molly Shannon; the three-part hair metal documentary series I Wanna Rock: The ‘80s Metal Dream; the three-part documentary exploring the history of soft rock, Sometimes When We Touch; Last Exit: Space, a documentary executive produced and narrated by Werner Herzog; Call Me Miss Cleo, an eye-opening film chronicling the rise, fall, and reinvention of controversial and revered ‘90s television psychic Miss Cleo; Gaming Wall Street, a two-part documentary narrated by Kieran Culkin exploring the historic 2021 short squeeze of GameStop; Brett Haley’s father-daughter live act music dramedy, Hearts Beat Loud starring Nick Offerman and Kiersey Clemons; Her Smell, Alex Ross Perry’s film about a self-destructive musician starring Elisabeth Moss; the hit podcast series, “DUST”, starring and executive produced by Corey Hawkins and co-stars Toni Collette; the audio original, “Lighters in the Sky” that reveals iconic, often undercover, music stories about the best live performances ever including Amy Winehouse, Aretha Franklin, Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen, Daft Punk, Led Zepplin, Nirvana, Selena, and more; and “Words + Music'' that shines a light on today's most influential artists with original audio productions from artists including Beck, Eddie Vedder, Pete Townshend, Billie Joe Armstrong, Sheryl Crow, St. Vincent, Smokey Robinson, Alanis Morissette and Gary Clark Jr. to name a few.
Gunpowder & Sky has offices in Los Angeles and New York.
*Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers will have access to stream live via the live feed of their local CBS affiliate on the service, as well as on demand. Paramount+ Essential subscribers will not have the option to stream live but will have access to on-demand the day after the special airs.
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Originally published: February 16, 2025.
H/T and imagery courtesy of Vital Thrills.
