In a stunning and emotional announcement that has taken the music world by surprise, Linda Ronstadt has confirmed her final world tour, aptly titled One Last Ride.
The iconic singer, whose voice defined an era and transcended genres from rock and pop to country and Latin music, will return to the stage for a farewell celebration of her extraordinary career.The announcement comes as both a joyful and bittersweet moment for fans. Linda Ronstadt, who retired from live performing more than a decade ago due to complications from a rare neurological disease, will now take part in a limited, intimate tour featuring special performances, storytelling, and multimedia retrospectives. Though she will not sing live due to her condition, Ronstadt will be present at each show, narrating stories and sharing memories through archival footage, personal recordings, and conversations.The One Last Ride tour will begin in Tucson, Arizona—her hometown—on October 10, 2025, and will travel through key U.S. cities including Los Angeles, Austin, Chicago, New York, and Nashville, before heading to Mexico City, Madrid, and Buenos Aires. The final performance will take place in San Francisco in April 2026, a city where Ronstadt performed some of her most legendary shows.“This isn’t about a comeback,” Ronstadt said in a heartfelt video released this morning. “It’s a thank you. A way for me to connect with everyone who let my music be part of their lives.” The tour will not feature traditional vocal performances, but instead focus on Ronstadt’s journey — a living documentary on stage.Each stop will include an immersive multimedia experience, featuring remastered concert footage, rare photos, behind-the-scenes interviews, and newly recorded conversations with collaborators like Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Jackson Browne, and Don Henley. A live orchestra and guest singers will perform her greatest hits in tribute-style segments, with Ronstadt herself curating the setlist for each night.Fans can expect timeless classics such as Blue Bayou, You’re No Good, Desperado, and selections from her Grammy-winning Spanish-language albums. The show aims to be both a tribute and a celebration — not just of her voice, but of the music she helped shape for nearly five decades.Tickets for the One Last Ride tour will go on presale for fan club members starting June 10, with general sales launching June 13. VIP packages will offer access to exclusive Q&A sessions and a commemorative book containing photos, handwritten lyrics, and Linda’s personal reflections.Industry insiders are already calling the tour “a historic event” — a farewell unlike any other. “It’s not a concert in the usual sense,” said tour producer Carla Santos. “It’s a living archive of one of America’s most important musical voices.”Ronstadt’s influence spans multiple genres and generations. A trailblazer for women in rock, a champion of cultural crossover in Latin music, and an interpreter of American standards, her discography has earned her 11 Grammy Awards and a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Her story was further explored in the 2019 documentary Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice, which earned critical acclaim.Fans have flooded social media with messages of love and gratitude since the announcement. Hashtags like #OneLastRide, #LindaForever, and #TheSoundOfHerVoice are trending, as fans share stories of how Ronstadt’s music shaped their lives.This tour may mark the closing chapter of Ronstadt’s public life, but her music will endure. As she says in the closing line of the tour announcement video: “I may not be able to sing anymore, but the music still speaks — and always will.
