Benmont Tench

Thursday, May 15, 2025

DOORS 6:00PM / SHOW 8:00PM

18+

Tickets: $35-$55

Best known as the longtime pianist and keyboard player for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Benmont Tench is one of rock’s most respected instrumentalists. Thanks to his impressive skills and adaptable style, Tench has guested on albums by everyone from superstars such as the Rolling Stones, Stevie Nicks, Bob Dylan, and Johnny Cash, to revered critics favorites like Emmylou Harris, Paul Westerberg, Kathleen Edwards, and X. Despite (or perhaps because) Tench’s career as one of music’s most in-demand accompanists, he didn’t step forward as a solo artist until he released 2014’s You Should Be So Lucky, a confident yet easygoing blend of rock, jazz, blues, and roots music influences. He returned in 2025 with The Melancholy Season, a soulful set of introspective numbers.

Born on September 7, 1953, in Gainesville, Florida, Benmont Tench took up piano at an early age, playing recitals at the age of six. But shortly after discovering the Beatles, Tench turned his back on lessons and focused on 1960s rock & roll. As a teenager, Tench met another up-and-coming rocker, Tom Petty, at a local music store. Several years later (while on break from college), Tench caught a performance by Petty’s band Mudcrutch (which also included future Heartbreaker Mike Campbell on guitar), and after sitting in with the band on several different occasions, went back to school. Petty soon asked Tench to quit school and join Mudcrutch full-time, and after some deliberation, he agreed.

Damn the Torpedoes
After a demo tape featuring the new lineup was recorded, the quartet landed a recording contract with Shelter Records. But before they could record an album, the band split up. Tench contemplated launching his own band (which he would double in as lead vocalist) before Petty convinced Campbell and Tench to come back. Recruiting additional members Stan Lynch (drums) and Ron Blair (bass), Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers was officially formed in 1976, and by the 1980s (on the strength of such hit albums as Damn the Torpedoes, Hard Promises, Southern Accents, and more), the Heartbreakers had become one of the top rock bands in the world. Beginning in the middle of that decade, Tench became a much sought-after session player. As prolific as he was talented, Tench added keyboards to recordings by such varied artists as Jackson Browne, Johnny Cash, Elvis Costello, the Cult, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Brian Eno, Don Henley, Indigo Girls, Stevie Nicks, Bonnie Raitt, the Rolling Stones, U2, and Ringo Starr, among many others. But despite his busy schedule as a sideman, Tench never let this session work get in the way of playing with his main band on 14 Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers albums, in addition to countless tours.

In February 2014, Tench released his first-ever solo album. Produced by Glyn Johns, the sessions for You Should Be So Lucky took place at Sunset Sound in L.A. and featured input from a veritable roll call of cohorts, from Don Was to Ringo Starr, with Tom Petty sitting in on bass on one cut. Tom Petty’s death in October 2017 finally broke up the Heartbreakers, and Tench continued to play music with a dizzying variety of artists. In March 2025, Tench delivered his second solo album, The Melancholy Season, through Dark Horse Records. Produced by Jonathan Wilson, the LP included contributions from Sara Watkins of Nickel Creek, Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, and Sebastian Steinberg of Soul Coughing. In support of the album, Tench launched a rare solo tour, beginning with a five-night stand at New York City’s prestigious Café Carlyle and following with nine shows on the American West Coast.

21 & Over Show. Must be 21+ with a valid ID to purchase alcohol.