Neil Young Launching West Coast Solo Acoustic Theater Tour in July

By Andy Greene

Neil Young is kicking off a tour in July following a four-year hiatus from the road — but don't expect a traditional set. In a live Zoom late Wednesday afternoon with paid Patron subscribers to the Neil Young Archives, he revealed that he's been rehearsing a show centered largely around songs he's never played live. It kicks off July 1 with at the 1,200-seat John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, and wraps up July 23 at the Oxbow RiverStage in Napa, California. Chris Pierce will open up every show.

The general ticket on-sale begins June 14 at 10:00 AM, and Young is utilizing Ticketmaster's Face Value Exchange to make it near-impossible for scalpers to resell tickets at inflated prices.

Young's rationale for dumping his traditional live repertoire is simple: "I don't want to come back and do the same songs again," he said. "I’ll feel like I was on some sort of carnival ride. I’d rather be doing these others songs I haven't done…I won't have to compare how I’m doing ‘Heart of Gold’ to [how I played it in] 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020…"

Young said that he's prepared a list of about 15 tracks for the show, including "Song X" from his 1995 Pearl Jam collaboration Mirror Ball, "Prime of Life" from 1994's Sleeps With Angels, and the 1982 Trans outtake "If You Got Love." "I did a demo of ["If You Got Love"] a few years [after Trans] with a synclavier, a drum machine, harmonica, and some effects," Young said. "I listened to it [recently], and it turned me on again. I’m now doing it with the organ and harmonica. It's pretty cool."

He's not totally jettisoning his classic tunes, but he estimates that 80 percent of the show will be songs known largely to hardcore fans. "They’re not new songs," he says. "They’re old songs. But I wake up with them in my head every morning. They are songs that apply to my life right now, and apply to everyone's lives in this era that we’re in. Some of them were written 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago, but never really played live."

Young didn't perform in public a single time between Farm Aid in September 2019 and the United For Old Growth Rally in Victoria, British Columbia, on February 25 this year. That was a mere two-song acoustic set, but he followed it up on April 22 with an extended show with former bandmate Stephen Stills at the Hollywood Bowl and a brief appearance at Willie Nelson's 90th birthday concert a the Hollywood Bowl later the month.

Young's reluctance to perform was largely rooted in concerns about the spread of Covid. "I don't want to play until you feel safe, and it is indeed, safe," he said when pulling out of Farm Aid in 2021. "My soul tells me it would be wrong to risk having anyone die because they wanted to hear music and be with friends."

Earlier this year, he also blasted Ticketmaster for their exorbitant service fees and huge resale mark-ups. "The old days are gone," he wrote. "I get letters blaming me for $3,000 tickets for a benefit I am doing. That money does not go to me or the benefit. Artists have to worry about ripped off fans blaming them for Ticketmaster add-ons and scalpers. Concert tours are no longer fun. Concerts tours are not what they once were."

Here are the dates for Neil Young's Coastal Tour. (A press release notes that more will follow.)

July 1 – Los Angeles, CA @ John Anson FordJuly 2 – Los Angeles, CA @ John Anson FordJuly 4 – Los Angeles, CA @ John Anson FordJuly 5 – Los Angeles, CA @ John Anson FordJuly 7 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara BowlJuly 8 – Paso Robles, CA @ Vina Robles AmphitheatreJuly 11 – San Diego, CA @ The ShellJuly 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek TheatreJuly 15 – Berkeley, CA @ The GreekJuly 17 – Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes AmphitheaterJuly 18 – Ridgefield, WA @ RV Inn Style Resorts AmphitheaterJuly 20 – Auburn, WA @ White River AmphitheatreJuly 23 – Napa, CA @ Oxbow RiverStage

This story was updated on June 9 at 12:40 pm with dates for the tour.