There will be a reunion of Neil Young and Stephen Stills when the two share the stage again for the latter’s Light Up The Blues concert on May 21 at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. This is the fourth annual event, hosted by Stills and his wife Kristen to benefit Autism Speaks‘ annual awareness and fundraising campaign. The evening’s lineup features Jack Black as MC; other performers include Jakob Dylan, indie favorites The War On Drugs, Stills’ band The Rides “plus many special guests.”
Young performed at the 2015 event when the three-time classic rock bandmates – Buffalo Springfield, CSN&Y and The Stills-Young Band – gave a blistering performance of Springfield’s “Mr. Soul.” Check it out (from this incredible vantage point)…
In a joint statement, Kristen and Stephen Stills said: “The last three Light Up The Blues benefits have been incredible, life-changing events for all involved. We are so grateful to be able to bring such a special night of music to the entire community, and to continue to support Autism Speaks.”
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Stills is enthusiastic about the music he is making with The Rides’ Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Barry Goldberg. “Kenny and I found a wonderfully exciting knack for playing lead at the same time without a real ‘arrangement,’ just sort of instinctive guessing, from watching each other’s hands. Neil Young and I used to do this with Buffalo Springfield. And the grooves are always right on the money, never rushed or jittery.”
The Rides are Stills (guitar, vocals), onetime six-string prodigy Shepherd (guitar, vocals) and Goldberg (keyboards), whose long resume starts with the Butterfield Blues Band, backing Dylan at Newport Folk in 1965 and The Electric Flag with Mike Bloomfield. Backing them are CSNY vet Kevin McCormick (bass) and Chris Layton (drums), who belongs to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with Stevie Ray Vaughan. The trio – which Stills refers to as “the blues band of my dreams” – released their first album, Can’t Get Enough, in 2013, and they are now set to drop a second record on May 6th entitled Pierced Arrow.
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The Rides 2016 Tour (Click here for tickets):
May 2 – Burnsville, MN – Ames Center
May 3 – Milwaukee, WI – Pabst theater
May 5 – Springfield, IL – Sangamon Auditorium
May 6 – Ann Arbor, MI – Michigan Theater
May 8 – Merrillville, IN – Star Plaza Theatre
May 9 – Munhall, PA – Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall
May 11 – Englewood, NJ – Bergen PAC
May 12 – New York, NY – The Town Hall
May 13 – Kingston, NY – UPAC
May 15 – Bethlehem, PA – Sands Bethlehem Events Center
May 17 – Boston, MA – Wilbur Theater
May 18 – Providence, RI – Lupo’s
May 21 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Pantages Theatre (Autism Speaks Benefit)
June 1 – San Diego, CA – Balboa Theater
June 2 – Berkeley, CA – UC Theater
June 4 – Scottsdale, AZ – Talking Stick Resort
June 5 – Riverside, CA – Fox PAC
