Althea Legaspi
Contact Althea Legaspi on X View all posts by Althea Legaspi May 22, 2026
Stephen Colbert and Paul McCartney on the series finale of 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.' Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, and Stephen Colbert‘s former bandleader Jon Batiste, along with current bandleader Louis Cato were among the musicians to bid a warm goodbye to Colbert during his final night hosting The Late Show at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York on Thursday. The performance also closed out the show, which was a star-studded, sentimental, and humorous send-off.
The first song that was broadcast was Costello’s “Jump Up (Honky Tonk demo)” — which appeared to be a prerecorded segment — an intimate acoustic number that featured Costello, Batiste, Cato, and Colbert on stools, harmonizing under spotlights. McCartney led the second song, the Beatles’ “Hello, Goodbye,” which was performed live in front of the theater’s audience, who stood and sang along as McCartney played the Beatle classic.
It marked the end of Colbert’s nearly 11-year run behind The Late Show’s desk after taking over from David Letterman in September 2015. Letterman served as the first host of the program back in August 1993.
