By Karen Bliss
Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Neil Young, who toured solo last July, just announced a Neil Young and Crazy Horse tour for late April into most of May to promote a new album, FU##IN’ UP, dropping April 20.
Dubbed the Love Earth tour, the long-running band, which has released 15 studio albums together and six without Young, kick off their tour with a pair of shows in San Diego, April 24-25, at Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre and wrap it up on May 23 in Chicago at Huntington Bank Pavilion. There is only one Canadian stop, May 20, at Toronto’s Budweiser Stage.
Tickets were first made available to his patrons on Neil Young Archives and are now for sale on Ticketmaster/LiveNation.com. Ticket buyers can also “opt-in” to receive a physical CD of the new album at no additional cost.
Young is also doing his best to prevent scalping by putting restrictions on the sale, similar to what his pals in Pearl Jam do, proving it is possible to curb the enormously inflated prices we’ve seen in recent years for Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen and others.
“The artist wants to give fans the best chance to buy tickets at face value,” it reads in the press release. “For fans who purchase tickets for the Love Earth Tour through Ticketmaster and can’t attend, they will have the option to resell their ticket to other fans at the original price paid using Ticketmaster’s Face Value Exchange. To help protect the Face Value Exchange, the artist has also chosen to make tickets for this tour mobile only and restricted from transfer. This applies to all shows except those in Illinois, Connecticut, New York, and Virginia where Face Value Exchange cannot be mandated.”
Crazy Horse — the band assembled back in 1969, and to this day, includes original members Ralph Molina and Billy Talbot, the rhythm section. Nils Lofgren, who does double duty in Springsteen’s E Street Band, played on Young’s After The Goldrush album when he was just 19 and joined Crazy Horse for a year back then, and then again, officially in 2018, although the two have worked together throughout the years.
According to the press release, “FU##IN’ UP reveals Neil Young + Crazy Horse in all their ragged glory, playing songs from their long relationship. Neil and The Horse have played together for over 50 years and the performances of these familiar songs, recorded in 2023, is a true highlight.”
More details will be coming shortly, but in a statement, Young says, “In the spirit it’s offered…made this for the Horse lovers. 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.”
FU##IN’ UP contains 9 songs on two LPs. The album will be released in limited edition colour vinyl pressing on Record Store Day April 20, with a wider, all-format release starting April 26.
Young participated in a compilation album of sorts, All Road Leads Home, released last March under Molina, Talbot, Lofgren & Young. The first three names wrote and recorded in their respective homes during the pandemic, and Young added a track to make it a 10-song album.
NEIL YOUNG CRAZY HORSE LOVE EARTH TOUR DATES: Wed Apr 24 – San Diego, CA – Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre Thu Apr 25 – San Diego, CA – Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre Sat Apr 27 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre Wed May 01 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater Thu May 02 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion Sun May 05 – Huntsville, AL – Orion Amphitheater Tue May 07 – Atlanta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre Wed May 08 – Franklin, TN – FirstBank Amphitheater Sat May 11 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live Sun May 12 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion Tue May 14 – Queens, NY – Forest Hills Stadium Fri May 17 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center Sat May 18 – Bridgeport, CT – Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater *Mon May 20 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage Wed May 22 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre Thu May 23 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
