Paul McCartney Played Beatles Classic for First Time Since 1964 at Taylor Swift’s Wedding
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- Paul McCartney performed "I Want to Hold Your Hand" live for the first time since 1964 at Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's Madison Square Garden wedding reception, and had never played the song live as a solo artist, per People.
- According to setlist.fm, McCartney's previous live performance of the track was September 20, 1964, at the Beatles' concert at New York's Paramount Theatre — meaning the song went untouched on stage for 62 years.
- Stevie Nicks joined McCartney among the A-list performers booked for the couple's wedding reception.
- A source told People that Andrea Swift, Taylor's mother, invited everyone from the ceremony into the reception room where the stage had been set up.
- McCartney told the BBC in the weeks leading up to the wedding that Swift's worldwide fame rivals that of the Beatles', saying "I don't think she needs any advice."
- McCartney and Swift appeared together on the cover of Rolling Stone's Musicians on Musicians issue in 2020, and Swift called McCartney an "eternally exceptional artist" on social media when he released his album The Boys of Dungeon Lane.
Why it matters: McCartney dusting off a Beatles classic untouched on stage since 1964 is a rare live resurrection, and choosing Swift's wedding as the venue — just weeks after he compared her fame to the Beatles' — signals the genuine cross-generational rapport the two have built since their 2020 Rolling Stone cover.
