Yes reached their fiftieth anniversary year in 2018. To commemorate the milestone, the band—consisting of guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Alan White, bassist Billy Sherwood, keyboardist Geoff Downes, and lead vocalist Jon Davison—completed the 50th Anniversary Tour across Europe and the United States between March and July 2018.^[2][3][4] The five were joined by American drummer Jay Schellen, who performed the majority of Yes's live sets since 2016 while White recovered from surgery and a bacterial infection that affected his playing.^[5] The tour's set list included songs that spanned most of the group's history, from Time and a Word (1970), their second album, to Fly from Here (2011), their twentieth album.

Yes 50 Live was recorded on 20 and 21 July 2018 at The Fillmore Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the North American leg of the tour. It features the majority of the set list performed on the two nights.^[6] This particular leg featured guest performances from former keyboardists Tony Kaye and Patrick Moraz; Kaye joined the group for the encores ("Yours Is No Disgrace", "Roundabout", and "Starship Trooper") and Moraz plays on "Soon", the closing section to "The Gates of Delirium".

Sherwood, who has produced and mixed several Yes albums, reprises his role as the mixer on this album.

The album was available as a 2-CD and 4-LP set, along with a colored vinyl pressing limited to 1,200 copies.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave the album three out of five stars and noted that it "adheres most closely to the prog rock that made their name in the early '70s" and that the current incarnation of the band "does this sound justice, which makes the album precisely what it's intended to be: a celebration of a particular time and sound, delivered with affection and skill".^[7]

Yes

• Steve Howe – guitars, backing vocals, production
• Alan White – drums, percussion, production
• Geoff Downes – keyboards, production
• Billy Sherwood – bass guitar, backing vocals, production, mixing
• Jon Davison – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion, production

with

• Jay Schellen – additional drums, percussion
• Tony Kaye – keyboards on "Yours Is No Disgrace", "Roundabout", and "Starship Trooper"
• Patrick Moraz – keyboards on "Soon"

Production

• Dean Mattson – recording
• Maor Appelbaum – mastering
• Roger Dean – painting, design, cover
• Douglas Gottlieb – photography, design
• Glenn Gottlieb – photography, design
• Daniel Earnshaw – product manager

The album made #34 in the UK midweek album chart.^[8]