Who served as musical director for the 2002 tribute event Concert for George?

Eric Clapton served as musical director for the 2002 tribute event Concert for George. The memorial concert honored George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death, 29 November 2002, and Clapton helped shape its musical direction while also performing guitar.

Clapton and Harrison had been close friends and musical collaborators for decades. Their relationship included work on recordings such as Harrison’s All Things Must Pass and Clapton’s participation in the Concert for Bangladesh project. That connection made Clapton a natural figure to coordinate the large ensemble assembled for the tribute.

The event featured former Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Billy Preston, Ravi Shankar’s musicians, and Harrison’s son Dhani. A common mix-up is confusing Clapton’s musical-director role with Jeff Lynne’s production credit on the later live album. Lynne performed at the concert, but Clapton directed the show musically.