Joe Walsh rocks his hometown with all-star cast to honor vets

Joe Walsh, a rock and roll icon whose career has spanned nearly six decades, returned to the place of his birth with an all-star ensemble to raise money for veterans on Saturday night.

Walsh’s VetsAid benefit concert took place at Intrust Bank Arena before 5,651 fans and featured a variety of well-known country, blues and rock acts.

VetsAid was started by Walsh in 2017 and has featured an impressive lineup of different bands and musicians that give their time and talent to raise money for local and regional veteran organizations.

This was Walsh’s 9th VetsAid concert and a special one given that Walsh was born in Wichita and his father, Robert Fidler, an Army Air Force pilot who died in a crash in 1949, was a Wichita native and is buried here.

The show began with sets from Ryan Bingham and the Texas Gentleman and 22-time Grammy winner Vince Gill.

After a tribute to Walsh’s mother, sung by the Wichita State University Concert Chorale, Walsh took the stage and started off the party with the James Gang song “Walk Away.”

Walsh came and went from the stage playing songs spanning his career while other acts like the Tedeschi Trucks Band and Nathaniel Rateliff played short sets and were joined by Walsh for classics like “Life’s Been Good,” and “Rocky Mountain Way.” Gill returned to the stage for the James Gang classic “Funk 49.”

A surprise highlight of the night was when songwriter Jimmy Webb appeared on stage and performed a duet with Walsh of Webb’s song “Wichita Lineman.”