Jeff Lynne’s ELO returned to the concert stage for the first time in more than four years on November 12, 2023 with a 10-song, hit-filled performance. The appearance, part of Joe Walsh’s annual VetsAid benefit concert held this year in San Diego, Calif., was almost four years to the day since his band played a studio show for BBC Radio in London in November 2019 and their first since Lynne completed a North American tour that August 1. The shorter set, part of a multi-act lineup organized by Walsh, included such ELO favorites as “Don’t Bring Me Down,” “All Over the World” and “Mr. Blue Sky.”

Lynne, born on December 30, 1947, had been enjoying a late-career renaissance. A huge comeback event, billed for the first time as Jeff Lynne’s ELO before 50,000 in London’s Hyde Park in September 2014, gave him the confidence that the public interest was not only there, it was insatiable. In 2015, he recorded a studio album, Alone In the Universe, and signed a worldwide deal with Columbia Records. That led to club appearances in New York and Los Angeles. A year later, he played a pair of shows at Radio City Music Hall as well as at the Hollywood Bowl. Soon, he was back to headlining arenas in Europe and North America, and triumphantly played London’s Wembley Stadium in 2017. That same year, decades of being eligible, the Electric Light Orchestra was finally inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Lynne, a production nut, released another studio album in 2019, and it was expected that he would continue touring as Jeff Lynne’s ELO. The pandemic, however, changed all of that.

The spaceship finally landed on a chilly Sunday evening at an outdoor venue, the North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, as Lynne and company kicked off their set with “Evil Woman” and “Do Ya.”

Watch them perform “All Over the World”

Before performing “Turn to Stone,” Lynne said, “I’d just like to say, to all veterans, thank you for your service. It’s a wonderful thing that you do.” He also thanked Walsh “for inviting us all here tonight.”

It was a rare public appearance for Lynne since the pandemic. In June 2023, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame by none other than Walsh. On March 18, 2024, Lynne announced a final U.S. tour, called “Over and Out.” Best Classic Bands attended the final concert and filed this review. He’s doing a U.K. edition in 2025; tickets are available here.

Related: Walsh headlined the evening with a set that featured Stephen Stills as a special guest

Jeff Lynne’s ELO, VetsAid, San Diego, CA, November 12, 2023, Setlist
Evil Woman
Do Ya
Rockaria!
Livin’ Thing
All Over the World
Telephone Line
Turn to Stone
Don’t Bring Me Down
Mr. Blue Sky
Roll Over Beethoven

Related: Links to 100s of current classic rock tours