Neil Young and Crazy Horse are hitting the road for their first proper tour in ten years. It kicks off on April 24 in San Diego, California, and wraps up on May 23 in Chicago, Illinois. Ticket sales for the subscribers of The Neil Young Archives begin today. The general on-sale starts February 16.
The group is also releasing the live album FU##IN’ UP, which was recorded at concerts last year. “In the spirit it’s offered…made this for the Horse lovers,” Young said in a statement. “I can’t stop it. The horse is runnin’. What a ride we have. I don’t want to mess with the vibe. I am so happy to have this to share.”
Neil Young has been playing with the Crazy Horse rhythm section of Ralph Molina (drums) and Billy Talbot (bass) since 1968. Original Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten died in 1972. Frank “Poncho” Sampedro played with the group from 1975 until his retirement in 2018. Nils Lofgren, who briefly played with Crazy Horse in the early 1970s when they made an album apart from Young, replaced Sampedro in 2018. They’ve recorded three albums over the past four years (2019’s Colorado, 2021’s Barn, and 2022’s World Record), but played only a tiny handful of concerts.
The group was joined by guitarist Micah Nelson in 2023 when they played a couple of special shows at the Roxy in Los Angeles to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the iconic Los Angeles club. The concerts featured complete performances of 1969’s Everybody Knows This is Nowhere and 1975’s Tonights the Night. That same lineup played a private show on November 4, 2023, for Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss at the Rivoli in Toronto, Ontario. They performed Ragged Glory nearly in its entirety that evening.
Young stayed completely off the road from 2010 to 2022 due to Covid concerns, the longest break of his six-decade career. He re-emerged in the summer of 2023 with a solo Coastal tour that focused on neglected songs from his vast catalog.
The exact lineup of Crazy Horse taking part in the Love Earth tour has not been revealed, but Nils Lofgren will be busy much of the time touring with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Micah Nelson will likely play in his place.
Neil Young and Crazy Horse’s 2024 tour dates:
Apr 24 – San Diego, CA @ Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
Apr 25 – San Diego, CA @ Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
Apr 27 – Phoenix, AZ @ Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
May 1 – Austin, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater
May 2 – Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion
May 5 – Huntsville, AL @ Orion Amphitheater
May 7 – Atlanta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
May 8 – Franklin, TN @ FirstBank Amphitheater
May 11 – Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
May 12 – Camden, NJ @ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
May 14 – Queens, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium
May 17 – Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
May 18 – Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater
May 20 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
May 22 – Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre
May 23 – Chicago, IL @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island