Photo Credit: Marc Millman

As first reported by Rolling Stone, Neil Young intends to hit the road this July. The esteemed musician shared that following a four-year touring hiatus, he plans to participate in a small West Coast residency this summer. In a live Zoom call with paid Patreon subscribers via the Neil Young Archives, he unveiled details regarding ongoing rehearsals for shows centered around tunes that have yet to receive stage time. 

On the video chat, Young spoke about the shift from fan favorites to increasingly nuanced numbers, adding, “I don’t want to come back and do the same songs again.” He continued, “I’ll feel like I was on some sort of carnival ride. I’d rather be doing these other 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 spoke about the assemblage of 15 tracks he plans to run through during impending appearances, mentioning his 1995 Pearl Jam collaboration, “Song X,” and “Prime of Life” from 1994’s Sleep With Angels and others. “I did a demo of [‘If You Gotta Love’] a few years [after Trans] with a synclavier, a drum machine, harmonica, and some effects.” He added. “I listened to it [recently], and it turned me on again. I’m doing it with the organ and harmonica. It’s pretty cool.” 

The artist went on to make comments that the nature of the setlist will primarily appeal to hardcore fans, “They’re not new songs,” Young stated. “They’re old songs. But I wake up with them in my head every morning. They are the 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.”

Additional information about the teased tour will drop on Friday. Although Young did suggest, the run will land in the form of a five-night West Coast residency at a “tiny, little unknown theater that’s close to one of the most well-known theaters in the world.”