Logan Staats on performing at Robbie Robertson's tribute: 'It felt like being in The Last Waltz'

In mid-October, singer-songwriter Logan Staats was offered a life-changing opportunity he couldn't dare pass up.

A call came from Grammy-winning roots musician Allison Russell: she asked Staats to get to California in 48 hours to perform with her at a Robbie Robertson tribute concert in Inglewood, Calif., on Oct. 17. The concert would also include performances by Eric Clapton, Van Morrison and Elvis Costello. Next thing Staats knew, he was on a plane, memorizing the lyrics to the Band's "Acadian Driftwood." 

Life is a Carnival: A Musical Celebration of Robbie Robertson took place at the Forum, a 18,000-capacity venue, the largest Staats has ever played. "It was a dream come true. I've been through a lot of things in my career and had a lot of different pivotal moments … but this felt like the pinnacle," he told CBC Music. "It felt like the highlight of my career so far." 

A concert film, directed by Robertson's longtime collaborator and friend Martin Scorsese, is in the works. Below, in his own words, Staats shares how he got involved with the tribute, what it meant to him as a member of Six Nations — the same Mohawk First Nation as Robertson — who grew up listening to the icon's music, and his potential involvement in the upcoming Scorsese-directed film.

"Allison Russell is paramount to making this whole thing happen. I met her at the Junos [in March], where we did another tribute to Robbie. We did "The Weight" with William Prince, Aysanabee, Julian Taylor and Shawnee Kish. I think a lot of the producers of the show saw that, and Allison was able to use that performance as a stepping stone to get us to this next level of tribute.

"Allison called me two days before, and was like, 'Listen, Logan, they finally just said that they'll take you guys. You know, I've been fighting, I've been fighting for you guys to get out here for weeks, and I finally got the green light. It's in 48 hours. Can you get on a plane right now and come to L.A.?' I had to kind of just like, ground myself and think about what was actually happening. And then I saw the lineup, and I was like, 'There's no way that I can miss this moment in musical history.'

"The band we performed with was made up of Allison, some of the Heartbreakers from Tom Petty's band, some of the biggest musicians in L.A., Julian Taylor and me. 

"We did 'Acadian Driftwood,' which is one of the songs that I listened to the least by the Band, so it was a challenge. It's a pretty complex song, with a complex story and there are a lot of lyrics. I just got on that plane, I put it in my earbuds, and I didn't stop listening to it. It was on repeat for two days in my ears. 

"At one moment, I was thinking  'Oh my God, am I gonna forget the words? Am I gonna forget everything?' But, we just got out onstage, and all of that hard work and listening to it and singing it a thousand times —  it worked. 

"[Doing this tribute], I got to represent Robbie on this different level. Last time I did, it was at the Junos, but this felt worldly. It felt bigger than just Canada, bigger than just America. It felt like the world. I think another reason for that is that it was the biggest crowd I've ever played in front of, it was a sold-out show at the Forum. And I thought, 'I've made it. I've surpassed where I ever thought that I would be and I've made it to this next level, this next tier of my career.'

"Robbie's songs are honestly some of the first music that I remember singing. I don't think everybody knew Robbie was Mohawk from Six Nations, but I always knew. I knew that from the very first time I heard his voice. I remember my grandparents and my parents telling and instilling that into me. This is a Mohawk musician. This is a guy that's like you, that comes from the same place as you did. So I always carried that knowledge with me, and he's always been a big part of how I write, how I sing, and I feel like he's just embodied in every chord, every note, every song that I've brought to the table. 

"It was a heavy load [to represent Robertson and Six Nations], and it was the most intimidated and nervous I've ever felt playing because it was just a really, really big responsibility to me. Robbie's family was there, all my heroes were there, and I really just wanted to make sure that I did my best, I sang my best, I carried myself the most respectfully I could. But most importantly, I wanted to represent my nation at the top of my ability.

"Out of everything, the proudest moment for me was taking the Haudenosaunee flag out onstage. I put it in my back pocket, and I didn't tell anyone. And then once I got out there onstage, I waved that flag in front of 18,000 people. I didn't know how it would be received, right? But when I threw up that Haudenosaunee flag, the crowd roared. 

"Before I arrived, [the filmmakers] had this loose idea of: This is Logan Staats, he's Canadian, he's from the same rez. But I think once I walked in, they got a different sense of 'There's this torch being passed or something.' 

"Then all of a sudden, I was becoming a part of the documentary and they were interviewing me. I really just got to speak from the heart and tell them about Robbie, tell them that I grew up down the road from him, from where his mom grew up, and tell them about how much he meant to me. It was really, really powerful.

"There are definitive moments that happen in your career that you will not ever forget. That weekend, being down there, meeting and sharing a stage with Eric Clapton, Taj Mahal and Nathaniel Rateliff, was one of those moments. 

"It felt like being in The Last Waltz. I've watched that movie over and over and over again, and then for a moment on that stage, when we were all on the stage together, I felt like I was inside of this movie that I've watched my entire life."