Names and faces

Paul Simon was set to wrap up his farewell concert tour Saturday night at a park in Queens, a bicycle ride across the borough from where he grew up.

The 76-year-old singer picked Flushing Meadows Corona Park to say goodbye, an outdoor show on the first night of autumn. The set list at recent stops has ranged from his first 1960s hit with ex-partner Art Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence,” to selections from a disc released weeks ago. Simon isn’t retiring and hasn’t ruled out occasional future performances. But he’s said this is his last time out on the road, and he isn’t alone among his peers; Elton John and Kiss are also doing goodbye swings. A staple of the folk-rock scene with Garfunkel, Simon explored music from around the world as a solo artist, most notably Graceland and its African influences. His recent work has been his most musically challenging, and in his new disc he revisits overlooked songs from the past four decades. He’s a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member for both stages of his career. The return to New York raised memories of Simon’s two iconic shows in Manhattan’s Central Park, in 1981 with Garfunkel and in 1991 on his own. He played two nights in Madison Square Garden last week. An often dour performer, Simon has been animated and talkative during the final shows. He seems eager for the freedom that awaits him, said Robert Hilburn, who wrote the biography Paul Simon: A Life that was released this spring. “The thing that strikes me is that he’s been happy, relieved,” Hilburn said. “There’s a burden off of him.” During an earlier show in Portland, Ore., Simon playfully “penalized” himself for flubbing the lyrics to one song by singing an old Simon & Garfunkel hit he confessed to hating: “The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy).”

Allman Brothers Band founding member Dickey Betts has had successful surgery after slipping and hitting his head while playing with his dog in Florida. The Dickey Betts website says the “Ramblin’ Man” and “Blue Sky” singer-songwriter and guitarist underwent surgery Friday to relieve swelling on his brain. A statement posted Saturday on the website read that Betts and his family said the “outpouring of support from all over the world has been overwhelming and amazing. We are so appreciative.” Last month Betts suffered a mild stroke and had to cancel coming tour dates with his Dickey Betts Band, which includes his son, Duane Betts. A few weeks ago, longtime friend David Spero posted that Betts was responding well to treatment for the stroke and was “raring to go.”