Bernie Taupin, the longtime lyricist behind Elton John's biggest hits, is about to do something he hasn't done in nearly 30 years: perform live. The 76-year-old songwriter will take the stage at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville on Nov. 7 for two shows, at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., marking both his Opry debut and his first public musical performance in nearly three decades.
The milestone comes as Taupin prepares to release The Sea Has No Mercy on Oct. 23 through Vertigo Records and MCA Nashville, according to Shore Fire Media. The 10-song record is his first solo album in almost 40 years and the first he has written entirely on his own, distilling what the label describes as 76 years of lived experience into the project. It was recorded in Nashville with producer Frank Liddell.
Taupin has framed the album as something only possible at this stage of his life. “I couldn't have made this album as a younger man. I couldn't have written any of these songs,” he said, per the release. The same material was inspired by his 2023 New York Times best-selling memoir Scattershot and by a retrospective documentary about his life that has been in development for several years.
A Star-Studded Supporting Cast
The Sea Has No Mercy features guest vocals from Brandi Carlile, along with contributions from country legend Lee Ann Womack, the Jeremy Jordan Ensemble and percussionist Jay Bellerose, per Shore Fire Media. Taupin and Carlile also teamed up on the single “Come On California,” released Sept. 18, as reported by udiscovermusic.com.
For his Opry debut, Taupin will be backed by a band called the Tennessee Stone Cutters on both nights, featuring guitarist Adam Wright, bassist Glen Worf and keyboardist Michael Rojas. His daughter, Georgey Devon Taupin, will join him onstage to perform “One Hundred Ways,” a song from the new album. The shows will take place as part of an Opry lineup that includes Carrie Underwood.
Taupin and Carlile's Nashville Moment
Taupin and Carlile's collaboration traces back to AMERICANAFEST, the Nashville festival that ran Sept. 15-19, where the two took part in the festival's 2026 Keynote Conversation on Sept. 16, according to udiscovermusic.com. It was a moderator-free discussion covering songwriting, collaboration, storytelling and artistic longevity, touching on what it means to work with another artist and sustain a career over decades.
Carlile has described Taupin as an early influence on her own songwriting, saying she had long hoped to meet and write with him, the same account notes. Taupin, for his part, reflected on the staying power of his decades-long partnership with Elton John, telling people.com that “our body of work continues to have relevance and find a new audience every, every decade.” That partnership dates back to 1967, when Taupin and John both answered the same advertisement from Liberty Records seeking songwriters, according to TIME.
A Song of the Year Honor, With a Title in Dispute
During the same Americana Honors & Awards ceremony at the Ryman Auditorium, Taupin presented Carlile with the Song of the Year award. Accounts differ on which song earned her the honor: Variety reported the win was for the title track to her 2025 album “Returning to Me,” crediting Carlile as its singer and sole songwriter, while Billboard reported that Taupin presented the honor for a song titled “Returning to Myself.”
Taupin's return to the spotlight follows his previous solo album, 1987's Tribe, as noted by Rolling Stone. Nearly four decades later, with The Sea Has No Mercy arriving this month and an Opry debut on the horizon, Taupin appears ready to step back into public view on his own terms, as K104.7 first reported.
