Bill Cosby returned to the stage for a surprise performance on Monday at LaRosa Jazz Club in Philadelphia, Cosby’s hometown, to honor jazz drummer Tony Williams. This marked the comedian’s first public show since 2015, which was around the time all of the sexual assault allegations started being made against him.

Not only did the 80-year-old perform a little stand-up during the event, but he also sang, played the drums and did some storytelling. The show was open to the public, but Cosby’s representatives didn’t share details about his appearance until a few hours earlier on his social media platforms, as well as via invites to reporters.

This hometown performance comes as Cosby awaits a new trial at the end of March for the charges made against him of three counts of aggravated indecent assault, which comes from a claim made by Former Temple University employee Andrea Constand that he drugged and sexually assaulted her in 2004.

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Comedian Bill Cosby plays drums during an appearance at the Germantown neighborhood jazz club, La Rose, on Jan. 22, 2018, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images

The first trial for the case occurred in 2017, but ended in a mistrial after a deadlocked jury couldn’t agree on how to handle Cosby and what fate he deserved. Cosby pled not guilty during the trial, which was to discuss this specific claim made against him, despite there being multiple other allegations made over the last few years. Prosecutors are hoping to be able to include testimony in the retrial from other women who’ve alleged Cosby has assaulted them, and are waiting to hear from the judge on whether or not this will be allowed.

The comedian was asked, after his recent show, if he had any comments about the trial by an NBC 10 reporter in Philadelphia and, despite his publicist trying to wave off the question, he responded: “No ma’am. I came here tonight to enjoy being with my friends and the musicians and the people who came… That was a lot of fun.”

When asked if it was hard for him to go out in public during this time, he said, “No… This is life, and life changes” and that “It’s not to be feared to go out.”

There’s been no news yet on whether this was Cosby’s only performance before his retrial.

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