If only we could be as energetic as Ringo Starr at any age.
At 85, the musician maintains the same philosophy that’s carried him through six decades in music. “It blows me away,” Starr told The New York Times this summer, reflecting on his birthday. “I look in the mirror and I’m 24. I never got older than 24.”
It’s a sentiment that perfectly captures why the former Beatle continues to tour, record and create with the enthusiasm of someone a quarter his age. This September, Starr brings his All Starr Band back to The Venetian Resort for the third year in a row. The current lineup—Steve Lukather (Toto), Colin Hay (Men at Work), Warren Ham (Toto), Hamish Stuart (Average White Band), Gregg Bissonette (David Lee Roth) and Buck Johnson (Aerosmith)—reads like a rock history textbook.
The All Starr Band, now in its 36th year, operates on the premise that “everybody on stage is a star in their own right.” Starr performs songs from his Beatles and solo catalog (expect “With a Little Help From My Friends”) while each All Starr member typically contributes two to three of their biggest hits. With each member carrying their own catalog of hits, it’s less like a concert and more like musical conversations among old friends.
Starr’s recent creative surge defies any notion of slowing down. His country album Look Up, produced by T Bone Burnett, became his first solo No. 1 album in the U.K., unseating Taylor Swift on the country charts. Now there’s a feat that ranks right up there with being a part of the greatest band of all time. The album also marked his Grand Ole Opry debut on Feb. 21, proving that age really is just a number and makes all of us wonder what we’re even doing with our lives.
That same fearless creativity has defined both his career and his approach to life. Despite claiming to be a “failed retiree” in a March Atlantic profile, he can’t resist the pull of good music and good company. “I’ve had enough; I’ve done enough,” he told the magazine before admitting that when the phone rings with tour dates, he heeds the call of the road.
Beyond music, Starr continues expanding his artistic reach. Fans can catch his STARR ART exhibition at Animazing Art Gallery in the Grand Canal Shoppes through Oct. 15. His latest book, Beats & Threads, combines his passion for music and fashion, two interests that have followed him since his modeling days in the 1970s.
The artistic diversification speaks to something deeper about Starr’s enduring appeal. His “peace and love” philosophy, which he’s promoted globally since 2008 through his July 7 birthday campaigns, is even more meaningful in today’s fractured world.
“The beat goes on, and you’re here as long as you’re here,” Starr told the Associated Press earlier this year. “Life is great.”
And when you spend an evening with a legend who still believes in the transformative power of music and kindness, it is indeed.
The Venetian Resort, 8:30 p.m. Sept. 24 and 26-27, starting at $69.95 plus tax and fee. venetianlasvegas.com
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