Watch Coldplay Pay Tribute to Tom Petty with R.E.M.’s Peter Buck at Moda Center

Starting with a moment of silence for the victims of the massacre in Las Vegas, the band then went into a cover of Petty's 1989 hit, "Free Fallin'."

Coldplay with Peter Buck (center) performing Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" at Moda Center. IMAGE: Thomas Teal.
By Matthew Singer

Yesterday was rough, to say the least. Just as the country was wrapping its head around yet another most deadly mass shooting in American history, news broke that legendary songwriter Tom Petty had suffered cardiac arrest and been taken off life support.

It took two tries for the news to get it right, but Petty officially died at 8:40 pm Monday night. About an hour later, Coldplay came onstage at Moda Center, put in the unenviable position of entertaining fans whose minds at the start of the concert were probably somewhere else entirely.

To the British rockers' credit, they didn't just go through the regular motions. Starting with a moment of silence for the victims of the massacre in Las Vegas, the band then went into a cover of Petty's 1989 hit, "Free Fallin'," joined by R.E.M. guitarist part-time Portlander Peter Buck. You can watch the performance below:

Whatever you think of Coldplay, it was totally the right move.

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