Paul Simon brought his so-called “farewell tour” just about a year ago, but the Graceland songwriter has done anything but call it quits. After releasing his In The Blue Light last August, Simon has continued to perform on late-nite shows like Saturday Night Live and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, where he was asked the host even asked about his alleged retirement. Now, the songwriter has continued his seemingly endless run of post-retirement dates with a pair of shows in Hawaii, one of which featured a duet with Michael McDonald.
As Rolling Stone points out, Simon performed two dates at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on August 13 and 14. For his second night, the former Simon & Garfunkel member brought out McDonald to perform the Bridge Over Troubled Water classic “Cecilia.”
Simon’s Hawaii performances follow a string of recent tour dates in California. On August 9, he played a surprise “pop-up” set at Oakland’s Fox Theater, followed by a headlining performance at San Francisco’s Outside Lands festival. During the latter set, he played fan favorites like “You Can Call Me Al,” “Diamonds On the Soles of Her Shoes,” and “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,” and also brought out Grateful Dead member Bob Weir for a heartfelt rendition of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Boxer.”