The one and only Sir Paul McCartney performed at the Santa Barbara Bowl on Sept. 26, just three days before he began his highly anticipated “Got Back” 2025 tour. Announced just 11 days before the concert, he was a must-see for all fans of popular music, considering the line for the event stretched all the way down to Alta Vista and East Victoria Street.
Courtesy of Ashly Othic
The performance featured a range of songs throughout McCartney’s career, from the first ever Beatles song recorded, “Love Me Do,” to the recently released “Now And Then,” along with songs from McCartney’s post-Beatles band Wings and a few highlights of McCartney’s solo work. The Santa Barbara Bowl was packed with 4,500 attendees who had the best of luck purchasing the first come, first serve tickets, which sold out almost immediately.
The performance had a strict no-phone policy, meaning attendees had to seal their mobile devices away in “Yondr pouches,” giving the concert a more intimate feel, especially for 83-year-old McCartney who’s been performing long before the prevalence of mobile cameras.
McCartney was joined by his backing band of several years now, and the second he walked on stage, he started performing the Beatles classic, “Help!” A song that was primarily written and sung by John Lennon. This was the first time he’s performed the song in any form since 1990.
He then performed the McCartney-solo classic “Coming Up,” followed by the Beatles song “Got To Get You Into My Life” and the Wings song “Let Me Roll It.” All songs were matched with high-energy visual effects on the screen, with the stage lit with 85-foot candles at 4,000 degrees kelvin.
As the night went on, it began to set in with the crowd just how intimate the performance was. McCartney typically performs in larger arenas, meaning the smaller size of the Bowl resonated with attendees, especially as he performed emotional classics such as “Blackbird.”
Near the end of the concert, McCartney began to perform back-to-back classics which were perfect representations of the contributions he has made to pop music as a whole. The infamous track “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” had the crowd joyfully singing along to one of The Beatles’ campiest yet catchiest songs of their career.
He then performed “Get Back” and “Let It Be,” two songs which perfectly display McCartney’s songwriting talents; with “Get Back” showcasing his advanced understanding of rock-and-roll and “Let It Be” standing among many other Beatles songs which proved to the general public that pop music can be dramatic, mature, emotional and catchy all at once.
His performance of the Wings song “Live and Let Die” was the most explosive of the night, with pyrotechnics and lighting that made one of the most theatrical songs McCartney has ever written even more dynamic for the crowd.
There were a few songs that were missing, however. “Maybe I’m Amazed,” one of McCartney’s most popular solo songs, was missing from the setlist; along with “Yesterday,” arguably the most important Beatles song, especially in the context of McCartney’s contributions.
However, it’s hard to complain considering some of the surprises McCartney had in store for the crowd. Following a compassionate performance of “Hey Jude,” which had the whole Bowl singing along, McCartney and his band had left the stage, presumably finished with the show. They then came back on for a six-song encore, which was kicked off with a performance of “I’ve Got a Feeling,” including a virtual duet with Lennon from their iconic rooftop performance in 1969.
Next up in the encore was the reprise of the title track of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” with psychedelic visuals representative of the album. Afterwards, he performed “Helter Skelter,” one of the most electrifying Beatles songs which is considered to be a precursor to metal music, heavily inspiring pioneers of the genre such as Black Sabbath.
The last three songs performed in the encore were “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight” and “The End,” which are a part of the famous medley on the backside of one of the most critically-acclaimed Beatles albums, “Abbey Road.” At this point in the evening, the emotions were the most heightened they’d been all night; it was almost impossible for any McCartney fan to not be overwhelmed in the best way possible.
Considering the level of excitement from the Santa Barbara community prior to the concert, it was clear no one in the crowd ever doubted him. If anyone in the music industry is going to be selling out crowds for generations to come, it’s going to be Paul McCartney.
A version of this article appeared on p. 19 of the Oct. 2, 2025 print edition of the Daily Nexus.
