After making its Grand Ole Opry debut with help from special guest Maggie Rose on Tuesday, Little Feat kicked off the fall leg of The Last Farewell Tour with a string of surprise sit-ins on Thursday and Friday, welcoming Marcus King, Maggie Rose, Tommy Emmanuel, and more at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium before reuniting with Leftover Salmon’s Vince Herman at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in Asheville.
Thursday’s show at the Mother Church of Country Music featured a steady stream of onstage collaborations throughout the second set. Starting out with an acoustic format, Little Feat welcomed Maggie Rose for a cover of “The Weight” and then subbed in Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel for “Cajun Girl.” Both guests then sat in on “Willin’” before the band transitioned back to full electric instrumentation.
Rose later returned to join in on “All That You Dream” and “Cadillac Hotel,” followed by Marcus King Band guitarist Drew Smithers, who sat in on a winding rendition of “A Apolitical Blues” that took a detour through “Long Distance Call.” Keyboardist Peter Levin—a longtime member of Gregg Allman’s solo band and frequent Marcus King Band collaborator—marked the set’s fourth special guest, sitting in on a pairing of “Spanish Moon” and “Skin It Back,” but he wouldn’t be the last…