Yesterday, more than 40 artists joined forces for CatSong Festival — a virtual tribute to Yusuf/Cat Stevens in honor of the 50th anniversary of his 1970 albums Tea for the Tillerman and Mona Bone Jakon.
During the nearly two-and-a-half-hour long stream, Haim performed a cover of “Hard Headed Woman” off Tea for the Tillerman. Danielle Haim took the reins for the stripped down rendition, singing and playing guitar, while Este and Alana contributed backup vocals.
Elsewhere, Jack Johnson covered “Where Do The Children Play,” Brandon Boyd of Incubus performed “Wild World,” and Dave Matthews played “Father & Son.”
“It’s great to see and hear these covers of my songs given new life,” Yusuf said in a statement ahead of the tribute. “There’s no better honor for a songwriter than to have his songs performed by talented musicians with such love and sincerity. Thank you.”
Watch the full CatSong Festival stream below.
Yusuf was set to tour in celebration of the milestone anniversaries, but the coronavirus pandemic derailed those plans. Instead, he’s still shared new, unseen content related to the Tea for the Tillerman and Mona Bone Jakon reissues. The anniversary boxsets — containing 24 recordings, demos, alternate takes, live recordings and more — came out on Dec. 4. You can order Tea for the Tillerman here and Mona Bone Jakon here.
