Penned on the Run: ‘GOT BACK’ Tour Diary 2025 Part 3

The tour blog from Paul’s US publicist Steve Martin continues, as Steve reports from San Antonio, New Orleans, Atlanta and Nashville

In this third instalment, we pick up where Part 2 left off as the GOT BACK tour rolls on through North America.

San Antonio

It’s humbling and exciting to bear witness to history coming full circle.

That’s what happened on Saturday, October 25 when Paul McCartney returned to the Alamodome for the first time since opening the massive stadium in 1993—and marking 11 years since he last stepped onto a San Antonio stage for a historic fundraiser at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.

Got Back’s return to the Alamodome meant that considerably more than the just under 2000 that fit into the Tobin Center would be experiencing some Macca magic on that enchanted evening — quite literally, Paul’s show fell on the same weekend as San Antonio’s Muertos Fest, a vibrant and bustling celebration of the Day of the Dead drawing huge crowds with its elaborately decorated floats, parades, altars, costumes, dance, food and more.

Needless to say, there were multiple traffic/travel advisories in effect throughout downtown San Antonio that weekend.

As the Alamodome filled with tens of thousands of Paul’s fans, there was a noticeable air of celebration in effect. No one was keeping count, but it seemed there were more attendees dressed for the occasion than the usual Lonely Hearts Club Band members decked out in their shiniest Sgt. Pepper regalia, and in a more ornate and diverse assortment of costumes than typically spotted.

Paul’s return to the Alamodome was nothing if not a family affair. Over the course of the evening, he dedicated “My Valentine” to wife Nancy who was in attendance, later noting that daughter Mary — the baby in Paul’s jacket in the visuals that accompany “Maybe I’m Amazed” — was in the crowd, along with two of Paul’s grandsons.

“Imagine that, watching your granddad rockin’,” Paul mused.

Speaking of family, Got Back at the Alamodome bore witness to the beginning of one: A young couple wielding a “MARRY US PAUL” sign caught Paul’s eye and were invited onstage where their wish would be granted — sort of. The young couple, Brenda and Gera, were actually married that morning (their wedding song was “Calico Skies”). It was the realization of a mutual promise that the next time they had the chance to see Paul play, they would commemorate the show by getting married. They shared their story with Paul, who gave their union his personal blessing, making their wedding day that much more special and memorable. "We got our lives made by meeting Paul and getting our marriage blessed by him,” Brenda said later. "It was an unforgettable experience that we will treasure our whole lives."

In truth, approximately 50,000 people shared an unforgettable experience to treasure for the rest of their lives as well that night, as Paul powered through nearly three hours and more than 30 classics spanning every era of his singular songbook. With a crowd this huge and effusive, it was virtually impossible to discern which numbers drew the most wall-shaking response — Beatles bangers “Get Back,” “Got to Get You into My Life,” “Drive My Car,” Wings favorites “Jet,” “Band on the Run,” “Live and Let Die,” or solo showstoppers “Dance Tonight,” “Here Today’… the audience response was akin in volume to a sustained near-three-hour Beatles scream.

Not long after the evening had wound down with a sublime triptych of “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight” and “The End," the AUSTIN CHRONICLE summed up succinctly that Paul’s Alamodome performance “drove home the power of McCartney’s music to make his shows feel at once personal and unifying. They’re reflections of a man whose whole career has been geared toward changing lives not by indulging in performative political grandstanding, but by fostering love. Even after nearly 70 years of performing, he’s positively bursting with it and remains steadfast in his mission to highlight humanity’s universal capacity to harness and share it for good."

New Orleans

The six-year span between Paul’s 2019 and 2025 New Orleans appearances was one of the shorter gaps on this run, but you wouldn’t have known it from the deafening reception that greeted him at the sold-out Smoothie King Center as he and the band tore into “Help!” to kick off a musical tour de force for a hugely appreciative Big Easy audience.

The Hot City Horns received a particularly warm welcome in their return to the nation’s brass band capital, having become veterans of the Macca roadshow since making their New Orleans debut with Paul at that same 2019 show. Kenji, Mike and Paul took to the stage for the first of multiple numbers with “Coming Up,” and proceeded to add muscular and flavorful accents to “Letting Go,” “Jet,” “Lady Madonna" and the nightly host of others — including a standout performance of “Let ‘Em In” that elicited a spontaneous arena-wide cheer when New Orleans’ own St. Augustine Marching 100 were recognized in the accompanying montage of marching bands.

In a turnout that broke the venue’s record for highest single performance concert gross, the multi-generational crowd was audibly delighted for the duration of the near-three-hour show, smiles plastered across an arena full of faces — including those of local denizens Harry Shearer and Judith Owen, and 93-year-old Preservation Hall Jazz Band saxophonist Charlie Gabriel, among other notables.

The highlights abounded and continued, with “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!” receiving what could only be described as a Mardi Gras-worthy response, a soaring “Blackbird” followed by Paul’s recollection of The Beatles’ refusal to play to a segregated audience in Jacksonville, Florida resulting in the first ever racially integrated rock show at a southern stadium resonated especially strongly with New Orleans and its history as a nexus of so many cultures, cuisines and of course musical genres… Not long after that moment, “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” would have the entire house dancing and singing along to a ska-inflected universal portrait of love and life.

As a boisterous “Get Back” segued into a sublimely emotive “Let It Be,” a cataclysmic “Live and Let Die” and a transcendent “Hey Jude” that unified the record-breaking crowd in the night’s biggest and most enthusiastic of numerous singalongs, it was undeniable that Paul had given one of America’s foremost music cities with yet another historic night. A lap around the stage with British, American, Louisiana and LGBTQ+ pride flags, a virtual duet with John Lennon on “I’ve Got a Feeling,” a “Sgt. Pepper” reprise and a final Abbey Road medley would close the newest chapter in a centuries-long tapestry as rich as any on the planet.

… All that and Paul somehow squeezed in a side trip to New Orleans’ Garden District to post a video of the famed local landmark that is the Skeleton House, spreading a little extra special Halloween cheer to his Instagram followers.

Atlanta

Paul has a long and storied history with Atlanta, one that stretches all the way back to The Beatles’ 1965 show at the Atlanta Stadium and includes Wings’ 1976 appearance at the Omni, a two-night solo stand at the same venue in 1990, subsequent solo shows in 1993 (Georgia Dome), 2002 and 2005 (Philips Arena), 2009 (Piedmont Park), 2014 (Philips Arena again), and most recently a 2017 stop in Duluth, Georgia (about a half hour’s drive so let’s count it)...

So what was in store for the latest chapter in this ongoing saga when Paul took to the stage for the first of two sold out nights at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena? For starters — as has been the case virtually every night on Got Back 2025 — there was a crowd reaction that would suggest it was Paul’s first time playing the ATL. The roar of the crowd exploded as the lights went down, mounting relentlessly from the first strains of “Help!” through numerous crescendos, including the customary “one wardrobe change of the evening,” when Paul doffed his jacket before shredding on an ecstatically received “Let Me Roll It” replete with its coda of Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxey Lady.”

Speaking of tributes to the dear departed, they were poignant and emotive both nights in Atlanta. Paul shared the sense of privilege he felt from having known George Martin (“Love Me Do”), paid homage to the enduring presence of John Lennon (“Here Today” and the virtual duet on “I’ve Got A Feeling” both brought the house down on Sunday and Monday alike) and dear friend and fellow ukulele player George Harrison (“Something”), his gratitude for the bonds they shared present in every note.

In addition to the impassioned and deafening approval of each and every number — night two, you may have registered just a hair higher on the db meter — there were indelible moments both nights: Paul recounting the story of writing “Blackbird” as a message of hope for those struggling in the Civil Rights era; Paul and the band bounding back onto the stage sporting U.S., UK, Georgia State and LGBTQ+ Pride flags minutes after uniting the arena in song with massive “Hey Jude” singalongs… These were a few of the shows’ numerous gestures of comfort and compassion that spoke directly to the crowds’ shared humanity. They provided hope and optimism in the face of whatever anyone in attendance might have been escaping for approximately two and a half hours those particular Sunday and Monday evenings.

Finally, for the verdict on the latest installment of Paul’s history with Atlanta, we’ll go to the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: "McCartney played for two hours and 30 minutes without the need of a backing track. Only his commanding voice and the captivating instruments of his seven-piece band, still leaning on the musical excellence that made him a superstar roughly six decades ago."

Nashville

Now this was one for the ages… Not only was Paul returning to the Music City for the first time since his 2014 show at Bridgestone Arena, he was playing the Pinnacle, Nashville’s newest premiere venue. With its capacity of 4500, most of whom would be dancing up a sweaty storm on the general admission floor, the Pinnacle would prove to be either the most intimate gig of Got Back 2025 or the wildest party 4500 Nashville locals had ever attended.

It was ultimately both of those things… and then some. Ticket holders filed in, securing their phones in Yondr pouches, thus insuring that tonight’s myriad memories would be captured by naked eyes and ears and not through screens — a gift that even those most reluctant to part with their digital phantom limbs for a few hours would come to appreciate. Members of the phone-free audience actually conversed with one another, sharing memories of Paul’s 2010 and 2014 Nashville shows, as well as his historic 2013 headlining tour de force at the nearby Bonnaroo festival, all fueling the mounting collective anticipation.

And what a party it was, kicking off with a rip-roaring “Help!” that transported everyone in the shiny and new yet cozy and warm new hall back in time to the days when The Beatles could still play venues this size — including Sabrina Carpenter, Kacey Musgraves, Robyn Hitchcock, Wilco’s Pat Sansone and Mick Mars of Motley Crue fame, all of whom were sighted in the house. “I think we’re gonna have a little bit of fun in this room tonight,” Paul added a few songs later. "No phones.”

ROLLING STONE reported of the Pinnacle gig that “Paul delivered requisite Beatles classics but it was songs from his Seventies era that brought the most juice,” and there’s a case to be made there: “Letting Go” simmered, “Let Me Roll It” boiled over, “Jet” absolutely soared and “Live and Let Die” exploded — albeit without the usual array of flash bangs, towers of flame and fireworks, lest Paul literally blow the roof off of Nashville’s hottest new venue.

Paul’s ‘70s output would also provide one of the night’s biggest surprises in the form of “Every Night,” a rare appearance on the main setlist for the sublime ballad from 1970’s McCartney — the same album that gave us “Maybe I’m Amazed,” a contender for evoking the most tears of joy shed on this once in a lifetime night in Nashville.

“We’re so in this room together,” Paul remarked to the elated crowd — many of whom spent the duration of the show sporting expressions of disbelief at their good fortune to have scored a ticket to see Paul in such close quarters. The main set’s home stretch featured singalongs of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” and “Hey Jude” whose intensity rivaled those of the stadiums and arenas on the Got Back 2025 trail.

“You’ve been a fantastic crowd here tonight. It’s been pretty hot and sweaty,” Paul noted, opening the encore with a suitably rocking “I’ve Got a Feeling.” A few songs later, as Paul left the Nashville audience with the parting words “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make,”  unlocking thousands of phones seemed like a formality — people were living in the afterglow of the singular experience they’d just shared, realizing that being fully present at a show like tonight’s was worth a thousand photos.

Next up: Got Back 2025 soldiers on through Columbus, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Montreal, Hamilton and concludes (say it ain’t so!) in Chicago.