Neil Young has announced his first tour in four years.
For now, the “Costal Tour,” as it’s called, sticks to the west coast. The outing begins with four nights a the 1,200-person capacity Ford Theatre in Los Angeles. He’ll then move on to larger venues, including the Santa Barbara Bowl, the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles and Berkeley, and the Hayden Homes Amphitheater in Bend, Oregon. According to a press release, more dates will be announced in the future.
The tour will pull from the more obscure reaches of Neil Young’s catalogue, highlighting songs he has yet to perform live over his six-decade career. The two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer prefaced the setlist choice to patrons of the Neil Young Archives, saying, “I don’t want to come back and do the same songs again. 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…”
Among the songs Young intends to play are “Song X” from Mirror Ball, the 1995 album made with Pearl Jam; the Trans outtake “If You Got Love”; and “Prime Of Life” from 1994’s Sleeps With Angels. “They’re old songs. But I wake up with them in my head every morning,” Young explained. “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.”
Despite his vocal suspicion that “touring is broken” due to Ticketmaster, seats to Neil Young’s 2023 tour will go up for grabs via Ticketmaster beginning Wednesday, July 14th at 10:00 a.m. local time.
Young broke his pandemic-related live hiatus in Feburary with a surprise acoustic set to Canadian protestors, followed by an on-stage reunion with Stephen Stills in April and duet with Willie Nelson at the latter’s 90th birthday concert. He also released an album with Crazy Horse, All Roads Lead Home, in March.
Neil Young 2023 Tour Dates:
07/01 – Los Angeles, CA @ John Anson Ford
07/02 – Los Angeles, CA @ John Anson Ford
07/04 – Los Angeles, CA @ John Anson Ford
07/05 – Los Angeles, CA @ John Anson Ford
07/07 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara Bowl
07/08 – Paso Robles, CA @ Vina Robles Amphitheatre
07/11 – San Diego, CA @ The Shell
07/13 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre
07/15 – Berkeley, CA @ The Greek
07/17 – Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater
07/18 – Ridgefield, WA @ RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater
07/20 – Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre
07/23 – Napa, CA @ Oxbow RiverStage