When Lindsey Buckingham walked onstage at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum to play “Go Your Own Way” alongside 21-year-old Sombr, the moment landed with real weight. Not nostalgia. Not a publicity stunt. Something closer to a handoff between generations.
The appearance didn’t come out of nowhere. It completed a documented arc: Buckingham praising Sombr as “extremely talented” in an April video, then presenting him with Variety’s Songwriter of the Year Award at the Power of Young Hollywood event. By the time Buckingham plugged in at the Kia Forum, the mentorship had already been on the record for months.
From Praise to a Shared Stage
The Kia Forum night turned a well-documented mutual admiration into a public musical statement.
The concert moved like a generational timeline set to music. Jesse Rutherford of the Neighbourhood appeared first, performing “Sweater Weather” — a song that soundtracked every 2013 fall playlist worth remembering — before Buckingham joined Sombr for Fleetwood Mac’s most enduring riff. Sombr introduced Buckingham as a major influence and mentor-like figure. That framing matters: this was a relationship Sombr named publicly, not a live cameo arranged in the background.
The relationship has been building steadily. Buckingham first praised Sombr’s breakthrough song “Back To Friends” after hearing it early the previous year. He presented Sombr with Variety’s Songwriter of the Year Award at the Power of Young Hollywood event in August, congratulating the younger artist’s creative vision. Buckingham has also confirmed that a studio collaboration was discussed after Sombr reached out, though he told American Songwriter the outcome remains uncertain — “will have to wait and see” were his words, and no confirmed project exists. The Kia Forum performance was a live cover, not an announced recording or single.
Sound City Says More Than the Stage Did
“Homewrecker (Reimagined Live From Sound City)” arrived alongside the Kia Forum moment, and its musician lineup signals something deliberate.
“Homewrecker (Reimagined Live From Sound City)” was recorded at the legendary Los Angeles studio and released in parallel with the concert news. The session brought in:
- Nickel Creek — Chris Thile, Sara Watkins, and Sean Watkins, the progressive bluegrass-pop trio
- Benny Bock, keyboardist known for work associated with Phoebe Bridgers and Beabadoobee
- Sebastian Steinberg, bassist connected to Fiona Apple, Soul Coughing, and Watkins Family Hour
That lineup spans classic rock songwriting, progressive bluegrass, and contemporary indie production. It reads less like a remix and more like an intentional expansion of Sombr’s musical palette.
At 21, Sombr is assembling a network that spans multiple generations and genres. The unconfirmed Buckingham collaboration still hangs in the air, and that open question is part of what makes this moment worth watching.
