Music

Paul Simon's "The Quiet Celebration Concert" Film Documents His Return to Live Performance

Paul Simon's new film captures a full performance of his album "Seven Psalms," alongside a second set featuring classic hits and fan favorites like "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" and "The Sound of Silence."

Rolling Stone·Jun 4, 2026·via Rolling Stone

Paul Simon's "The Quiet Celebration Concert" Film Documents His Return to Live Performance

Paul Simon Documents Return to the Road in ‘The Quiet Celebration Concert’ Movie

Film features a complete performance of Simon's Seven Psalms, and a second set of hits and deep cuts, including "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" and "The Sound of Silence"

By Andy Greene

Andy Greene

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June 4, 2026

A little over a year ago, Paul Simon returned to the road following a seven-year hiatus to promote his new LP Seven Psalms . It was a stunning show that featured a complete performance of the album in the first act, and a mixture of hits (“Graceland,” “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,” “The Boxer”) and fan favorites (“Train in the Distance,” “The Late Great Johnny Ace,” “Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War”) in the second act.

Cameras were rolling when the tour hit Seattle’s McCaw Hall, and that footage provides the backbone for the new concert film Paul Simon: The Quiet Celebration Concert , which is premiering June 26 on Disney+ and Hulu. A companion live album is arriving Oct. 9.

“This tour has enabled me to play with musicians again,” Simon said in a statement. “I really missed it. Everybody has enjoyed the experience so much. There’s been a feeling of camaraderie and elation that we were playing this piece of music that we were really interested in, and that had a significant effect on me. It made for one of the most extraordinary tours I’ve done — maybe the most joyous.”

In a short trailer for the film, Simon talks about the hearing loss he suffered in his left ear while recording Seven Psalms . “I had no idea how performing live could be done,” he says. “It took me years to play with musicians again.”