Nearly 50 years ago, legendary rock group The Band — along with many of their famous friends — played their announced last concert in San Francisco on Nov. 25, 1976. It was called “The Last Waltz” and was also filmed as a concert movie and documentary by another legend, Martin Scorsese.

In keeping with a new tradition, WDVE’s Randy Baumann and his Ramble Band gathered to perform the music of that concert film, with the help of Pittsburgh’s deep bench of musical talent, at Mr. Smalls Theatre in Millvale on Saturday night. This show — called “The Smalls Waltz” — rocked a sold out crowd once again.

In addition to being an opportunity to bring musicians together, play some tunes and have a great time, the Smalls Waltz also benefits a good cause; part of the proceeds are donated to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Foodbank.

Now, this is not a simple task, pulling together a full roster of musicians to play for three hours, hopping through nearly 30 songs. But Baumann spent the time in between each song full of energy, shouting out the assembled artists and the robust music scene in Pittsburgh.

After Danny Rectenwald and Favorite Band kicked off the night with the actual Last Waltz from “The Last Waltz,” an instrumental piece, Baumann and the band came out to welcome the crowd. When he asked “How many of you have been to a Smalls Waltz before?” there were plenty of cheers from the audience.

The show’s organizers did a fantastic job matching the talents of performers to the songs they sang and played. For example, Joe Grushecky — fresh off a set at Light Up Night — dropped in about halfway through the show to sing two back-to-back tunes. His expressive growl was the perfect tone for Muddy Waters’ “Mannish Boy” and he brought his signature star power to a high-energy version of “Further on Up the Road,” which Eric Clapton performed at “The Last Waltz.”

Grushecky was followed by Bill Deasy, a Pittsburgh music legend in his own right. He performed “Dry Your Eyes,” which Neil Diamond sang in “The Last Waltz,” and Deasy sounded surprisingly similar to Diamond as the song built and progressed into its emotional climax.

Singer Paul Luc lent his voice to a pair of The Band’s hits, starting out a few ongs into the set with “Up on Cripple Creek,” his clear and soulful vocals merging with the voices of the excited crowd. The addition of the Ramble Band’s phenomenal horns really gave extra spark to the song. He returned later for the more mournful “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” a song even more suited to his emotive vocals.

Clinton Clegg was a fierce presence onstage, along with several other members of The Commonheart. Clegg blew the house down with “The Shape I’m In,” and followed it with “Ophelia.” There’s a timeless quality to Clegg’s singing that transports the listener to the atmosphere around these older songs. He continued his winning streak with Van Morrison’s “Caravan,” where the horns battled it out with his triumphant “na na na”s for supremacy.

The ladies absolutely killed it on the microphone as well. Backup singers Anne Celedonia and Addi Twigg each got their turns on the main mic and couldn’t have impressed more. Celedonia especially shone in her duet of the country-ish melancholy waltz “Evangeline,” which she sang with Jon Brindley. Twigg took total control of “Such A Night” by Dr. John with commanding big notes and effortlessly gorgeous runs that had the crowd cheering.

Then there was Rusted Root veteran and c0-owner of Mr. Smalls Theatre, Liz Berlin, who had to be an easy choice to sing Joni Mitchell’s “Coyote.” The two women have similarly unique cadences, and Berlin flawlessly pulled off the talk-singing poetry of Mitchell’s songwriting while the band layered in an enchanting amount of complexity into the tune.

Also standing out was Jeff Taylor, who was in the driver’s seat for two songs originally sung by The Band member Rick Danko in “The Last Waltz.” The first, “It Makes No Difference,” was one of the highlights of the night with Taylor’s soaring voice. Deeper cut “Sip the Wine” also stunned, with his voice moving from gentle to passionate throughout.

There were no misses in the three-hour show, from Chet Vincent’s pitch-perfect Bob Dylan run to Jon Brindley’s nimble variety of contributions to Bill Toms’ slow-burning “Who Do You Love” performance to Jimmy Adler’s star stage presence on the rollicking “Caledonia.”

But the stage crowded with musicians of all types for the final two songs of the night, ending on a high note with the cathartic “I Shall Be Released” and a massive group performance of “The Weight” (which yours truly would solidly argue is a top-1o classic rock song of all time). Both numbers were a powerful showcase of the talent and energy of our local artists and the strength of the connection between performers, crowds and the music.

“Have a great Thanksgiving, let’s do it again,” Baumann said as the artists got ready to leave the stage. “And Go Stillers!”

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