Heartbreakers Reunite After 24 Years, Chris Stapleton Joins For Rendition of ‘American Girl’

- Home - Music - News

Sep 17, 2026 1:59pm PT

The Heartbreakers Talk About Surprise Reunion, and How Chris Stapleton ‘Was So Enthralled’ Hearing Tom Petty’s Band Play ‘American Girl,’ ‘He Forgot to Sing’

By Chris Willman

Plus Icon

Chris Willman

Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

ChrisWillman

Latest

- Americana Award Winners Include Molly Tuttle, Brandi Carlile, Gillian Welch and Tyler Childers, as Robert Plant and Others Receive Lifetime Honors 7 hours ago

- Dolly Parton Posthumously Accepts Americana Award in Newly Released Video Recorded Before Her Death: ‘Just Know That I Will Always Love You’ 9 hours ago

- Tom Petty’s Original Heartbreakers to Reunite for First Time in Decades for Americana Awards, Fronted by Chris Stapleton; Boxed Set of ’70s Rarities Coming 1 day ago

See All

- - - - - -

- - - - - - -

The Heartbreakers were heartwarmers Wednesday night in Nashville, reuniting the original members of Tom Petty’s band together on a stage for the first time in 24 years, with an assist in the frontman position from country superstar Chris Stapleton . The following morning, the original four sat on a stage at the AmericanaFest conference and revealed some of the thoughts going through their heads as the reunion many bet would ever happen finally went down.

The world of Petty fans had had a serious case of FOMO throughout the day Wednesday as word got out that Stapleton would join OG Heartbreakers Mike Campbell , Benmont Tench , Stan Lynch and Ron Blair on the stage of the Ryman Auditorium to kick off the Americana Honors & Awards show. The reality was more satisfying as the reunion mini-set went on beyond the song or two that fans imagined. It amounted to three straight numbers — “American Girl,” “Breakdown” and “You Wreck Me” — all played at a volume earsplitting enough it’s a wonder the Ryman’s famed stained windows remained intact. As a bonus, to fully un-break the Heartbreakers’ circle, Lynch stepped aside from the drums for the final number to let lat his successor, Steve Ferrone, step in for the finale, and 21st-century utility man Scott Thurston popped in as well.

The consensus was strong: In the unlikely event this crew were to go on tour together, they would save the world, at the very most, or fill stadiums with happy customers, at the least.

At Thursday’s panel, titled “Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: 50 Years,” the discussion was kept mostly to the origins of the band in the 1970s, with no mention of any possible future. But moderator Mark Felsot did begin the conversation by asking the four original members how they felt about the previous night’s proceedings.

“Well, it was emotional, and fun, and a thrill to play with Chris Stapleton,” said Campbell, speaking first. He said the country vocal powerhouse “was hilarious. He forgot to sing the first line of the first song, ‘American Girl.’ We were looking at him going…?” he said, suggesting a questioning glance around the stage. “And he came in like ‘–American Girl!'” Whether viewing in person at the Ryman over the livestream, fans definitely noticed, and did not hold it against him, given the firepower that followed, and perhaps some empathy with what Stapleton might have been going through.

Said Campbell, “I said [afterward, to Stapleton] ‘What happened? He said, ‘I was so completely enthralled listening to you guys, i forgot to sing.”

At the reunion performance, Campbell had told the audience that this was their first time playing together since 2017, when Petty died. But on the panel, Tench pointed out that “we have not played together with Stan since 2002,” when Lynch played drums with the group at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted after parting ways with Petty in the ’90s. This reignited a chemistry that was long-awaited, since some members of the group had stayed in closer contact with Lynch over the years than Petty. Added Tench, “What was so special was to cut into those songs with the original cats that all made it together 50 years ago.”

So what was Lynch thinking, being the original member who’d gone without performing with his brothers the longest? (Blair left the group before Lynch, but came back in the 2000s.)

“I’ll let you know next week,” said Lynch. “I’m still processing it. it’s emotional; it’s musical. Part of me is, i want to do a good job for these guys. i have a lot of respect for them, so my main thing is, I want to do right. So I’ll process the experience probably next week when i get home. But my first reaction to the whole thing was, yeah, this is a really good band. I’m proud to be in it. I love these guys, and i just want to do right.”

Related Stories

‘One Minute to Midnight’ Review: A Stellar Cast Deliver Interesting but Overly Preachy Disquisitions on the Changing Nature of Male-Female Relations

_Originally reported by [Variety Music](https://variety.com/2026/music/news/heartbreakers-reunion-chris-stapleton-tom-petty-americana-1236866017/)._