Ringo Starr And His All-Starr Band Delight As U.S. Tour Gets Underway

(Left to right) Steve Lukather, Warren Ham (back), Ringo Starr, Hamish Stuart, Gregg Bissonette (back) and Colin Hay perform on stage on opening night of a U.S. tour by Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band. Wednesday, September 10, 2025 at Chicago Theatre in Chicago, IL

Photo by Ethan Chivari

“It’s wonderful to be here with this legendary league of gentlemen,” said Men At Work guitarist Colin Hay, shouting out his famous bandmates midway through an opening night performance by Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band Wednesday night in Chicago. “This is my 13th year and what an honor to be up here with Ringo Starr,” added Toto guitarist Steve Lukather moments later.

Wednesday night, Starr and company kicked off their latest tour on stage at Chicago Theatre, arriving for a rare festival appearance at Bourbon & Beyond in Louisville, Kentucky last night ahead of a residency run at the Venetian in Las Vegas that’s set to begin this Wednesday, September 17, running through Saturday, September 27.

In the summer of 1989, Starr launched the first installment of his All-Starr Band, touring alongside Joe Walsh, Dr. John, Nils Lofgren, Clarence Clemons, Billy Preston, Rick Danko, Levon Helm and Jim Keltner, his first full solo run following the final Beatle tour in 1966.

Nearly four decades later, the always evolving supergroup has entered its 16th iteration, with Starr joined for this tour by guitarists Lukather and Hay, bassist Hamish Stuart (Average White Band), multi-instrumentalist Warren Ham (Toto, Kansas), drummer Gregg Bissonette (David Lee Roth) and keyboard player Buck Johnson (Aerosmith, Hollywood Vampires).

The core of this potent lineup has been intact for over a decade, with the strength of each band member’s musical contributions on full display over the course of nearly two hours on stage in Chicago.

“Aright, are you ready to have some fun – some good music?” asked Starr rhetorically Wednesday night to the delight of the sold out opening night crowd. “I say this every night: Everyone in this building will know at least one song,” joked the drummer, explaining the All-Starr Band’s mission statement of embracing a few highlights from each member’s catalog as he sent the set around the horn. “And you might know this one. Because it don’t come easy!” said Starr, setting up the group’s take on his 1971 solo hit.

Opening with The Beatles via “Honey Don’t,” a Carl Perkins cover and minor hit for the Fab Four following the release of the Beatles For Sale album in December 1964, Starr handed things off to Lukather in the evening’s early goings.

Starr bound up onto the drumkit for the first time Wednesday night as Lukather led a spirited take on Toto’s “Rosanna.” Five of the seven members present on stage chipped in on vocals, with Warren Ham taking on the song’s higher vocal parts.

While this band functions best as the sum of all its parts, Ham often stands out as the secret weapon, delivering vocals, percussion, harmonica and saxophone during “Rosanna” alone third in the set. “Come on!” shouted Lukather, shredding away as percussion drove the song’s final moments, with Starr smiling wide as the cut neared its end.

“If you say you don’t know this one, you’re lying,” joked Stuart as the ensemble offered up a mostly instrumental take on Average White Band’s “Pick Up the Pieces,” with Ham’s saxophone up front as Stuart and Bissonette teamed up on a late vocal part.

“To my left, the man at work: the fabulous Colin Hay!” said Stuart, passing the baton to Hay for a lively take on Men At Work’s “Land Down Under,” with Ham delivering the song’s iconic flute hook.

On the 1963 Beatles debut Please Please Me, Starr handled lead vocals as the group offered up their take on the Shirelles’ “Boys,” with six of the group’s seven voices shining as Starr handled the drumming Wednesday night.

“Thank you. Peace and love!” shouted Starr with a smile early in the show on opening night. “This next song I’m gonna do was actually written by John [Lennon],” explained the knighted Beatle. “He wrote it for himself and then went, ‘I can’t do it. You do it, Ringo.’ I said, ‘What’s it called?’ And he said, ‘I’m The Greatest!’” Starr explained, looking back on his 1973 self-titled third studio album. “Now, I’m way past 32!” sang Starr, 85, humorously updating the lyrics of “I’m The Greatest” while pointing at a young fan in the fourth row.

Teasing snippets of “Day Tripper” and “Please Please Me,” Starr soon led an all hands sing-along as the All-Starr Band put their spin upon “Yellow Submarine” on stage in the Windy City, returning following a brief break as the hit parade continued with “Octopus’s Garden.”

Some of Starr’s most notable recorded moments find him dabbling with country music. Released as the B-side to “Yesterday” in 1965, The Beatles put their spin on Buck Owens’ “Act Naturally,” with Starr delivering the vocal to the Help! deep cut.

That song came in the show’s closing moments Wednesday night in Chicago. But, prior to that, from his 21st studio album of the same name released earlier this year, “Look Up” stood out as a highlight on night one.

“As you may know, I had a country album this year…” mused Starr while greeting fans seated in front, recently revealing he’s got more country in the works. “Look at that great hat!” he continued, posing on stage in a fan’s cowboy hat. “I want an honest answer,” said the Beatle, looking to his right at Lukather as he modeled. “OK. Help me out!” said Ringo at the top of the new “Look Up,” with Lukather shining on guitar as Stuart’s bass bumped along beneath.

“I’d love to do another song – and because of that, I’m on stage tonight,” deadpanned Starr, joining Ham and Bissonette on drums for Men At Work’s “Overkill.” Cymbals gave way to more as band noodling drove an extended intro on the take, with Johnson providing an unexpectedly enjoyable early organ as Hay cut loose on the track.

Hay and Ham assisted Lukather on vocals throughout Toto’s “Africa” with Hay plucking away at “I Wanna be Your Man” moments later.

Lukather headed left to jam out with Hay, drawing out the intro to Men At Work’s “Who Can it be Now?” with one final Toto moment waiting in the wings.

“I wrote this when I was 19 years old and it’s been very good to me!” said Lukather, introducing “Hold The Line,” with Johnson’s keys soon sparkling throughout the evening’s most rollicking moment.

“Put the lights on. Lemme see you!” said Starr, taking stock of the sold out Chicago audience. “You’re all dressed up – in your best t-shirts. Looking groovy!” joked the octogenarian on stage. “I wish I had a camera. Every night I wish I had a big camera – so I could take a photograph of all of you!” said the drummer, introducing “Photograph” as the All-Starr band headed for home.

On stage, the All-Starr Band brings together an eclectic grouping of musicians just as it brings fans together during tumultuous times.

While the band looks to be having an awful lot of fun together on stage, nobody smiled more broadly on opening night than Starr himself.

“OK. Gimme that big chord again!” shouted the energetic drummer in the show’s final moments, hopping up and down in place on stage like someone a fraction of his age.

Closing up, appropriately enough, with “With a Little Help From my Friends,” Starr raced off stage, returning for a bow as the group worked up a snippet of the Plastic Ono Band’s “Give Peace a Chance,” flashing the peace sign as the Wednesday night opener wrapped up on stage at Chicago Theatre.

“Love is good,” said Ringo Starr, reiterating a longtime Beatle mantra that remains remarkably relevant nearly six decades along. “That’s all I can say right now.”