Though Neil Young was the main backer behind his Harvest Moon Gathering in Lake Hughes, California, there was another star who shined particularly brightly on the stage at The Painted Turtle: Lana Del Rey. Between the new song she performed from her forthcoming album, the duet she did with her niece, and the Neil Young classic that she made her own, the beloved singer-songwriter had her crowd of diehards swooning and the entire camp buzzing.

Set against the backdrop of the sprawling ranch-turned-retreat that Young helped establish for children with serious medical needs, the whole day glowed with both purpose and joy, as a slew of sensational performers—including Beck, Tyler Ramsey, Muireann Bradley, and Masanga—filled the air with joy and song.

Nestled amid golden grass and rolling pines just an hour north of Los Angeles, The Painted Turtle was transformed from a summer camp into a music festival. Founded in part by Paul Newman and long supported by Neil Young and his late wife Pegi Young, the camp provides transformative outdoor experiences for kids facing chronic illnesses. The Harvest Moon Gathering, much like Young’s beloved Bridge School Benefit before it, is a celebration of music as medicine, where good tunes and good will entwine beneath the stars.

This year’s star-studded lineup reflected that ethos. Alongside Young and Del Rey came Beck, who turned in a set equal parts gospel and goofball. The atmosphere was less “festival” and more “front-porch family reunion,” the kind where guitar cases double as coffee tables and no one minds the dust.

If Lana brought the mystique, Beck brought the campfire warmth. He opened with “The Golden Age”, easing the crowd into a twilight trance, his voice floating gently over the desert air. The set unfolded like a dream sequence: wistful, funny, a little fragile, and full of heart. “This is a cool spot,” he grinned early on as he peered past the crowd and around Lake Hughes. “I grew up in L.A., but I’ve never been up here.” You could tell he meant it; the hills and hush suited him.

With Neil watching from the side stage, Beck slipped into “Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime”, The Korgis cover immortalized in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The stretch of “Lost Cause” and “Heart Is a Drum” showcased his gentler side—melancholy without self-pity—before he lightened the mood with a wave to the crowd.

Then came a little left turn into bossa nova psychedelia with “Tropicalia”, followed by the haunting “Dead Melodies”, a song he wrote decades ago for Johnny Cash “but never sent.” It was the perfect fit for the setting: intimate, weathered, and real. He followed with “Say Goodbye”, and just as the audience seemed fully lulled, Beck cracked the night open with “Where It’s At” and a gritty, blues-soaked “Loser” on his black guitar.

Before wrapping, he paused to reflect on playing Neil’s Bridge School shows and touring with the legend. “I know a lot of you are waiting for Lana,” Beck added with a smile.

He closed with a solo turn on Daniel Johnston’s “True Love Will Find You in the End”, just Beck, a harmonica, and the sound of the high desert breathing around him. It was tender, understated, and somehow perfect, the kind of moment Neil Young himself might’ve dreamed up when he first imagined the Harvest Moon Gathering: one artist and one song under a sky full of grace.

If anyone embodied the mood of the night, it was Lana Del Rey. The pitch-perfect pop star unfurled a set that blended Americana reverence with her cinematic melancholy, as best exemplified with her cover of Neil Young’s “The Needles and the Damage Done” as the opener.

Lana followed that up with a new song from her upcoming album called “Husband of Mine”, a love letter to her own husband Jeremy Dufrene, which she premiered at Stagecoach Music Festival earlier this year. She continued with a bit of country twang in “Stars Fell on Alabama” before diving into her hit-filled catalog with an acoustic “Summertime Sadness”, her first solo rendition of “Let The Light In”, and brief forays into “Norman f***ing Rockell” and “Arcadia”.

In between closing singalongs of “Video Games” and “Young and Beautiful”, Lana invited her niece onstage for a duet of “Do-Re-Mi”. It was an adorable moment that brought Harvest Moon Gathering’s family-friendly vibes to the fore.

When Neil Young finally stepped into the soft glow of the stage lights, it felt less like the arrival of a headliner and more like a homecoming. Dressed in a “Canadian tuxedo” (i.e. a jean shirt and jeans) with his signature train conductor’s hat, he greeted the crowd with a simple nod, picked up a ukulele, and began the night with “Tumbleweed”. He stayed solo for “Sugar Mountain”, his harmonica tracing circles in the cool evening air, before The Chrome Hearts—Micah Nelson, Spooner Oldham, Corey McCormick, and Anthony Logerfo—slipped quietly on stage to join him for “Old Man”. The timing was poetic: a song about youth and age, played under the Harvest Moon at a camp built for kids, by an artist who’s spent decades turning compassion into melody.

From there, the set deepened into that timeless Neil Young rhythm: tender one minute, torrential the next. “Comes a Time” and “Human Highway” unfurled with warm harmonies and rolling strums, followed by “Heart of Gold”, the whole crowd singing along like a chorus of campfire ghosts. Then Neil sat down, cradling a banjo for “My Boy”, a tender reflection that hushed the entire field.

As always, the stillness didn’t last long. With a grin, Neil strapped on an electric guitar and tore into “Cowgirl in the Sand”, stretching the solos until they shimmered like heat on the horizon. The groove stayed heavy for “Vampire Blues” and “Big Crime”, his new protest anthem that bites as hard as anything from his Crazy Horse days.

The set reached a fever pitch with “Rockin’ in the Free World”, Neil pounding his guitar and the crowd shouting back the refrain, “man of the people, keep hope alive!” like a rallying cry. From there, he launched into a searing “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)”, the feedback from his guitar ringing against the canyon walls.

Then, as if to bring the whole night full circle, he swapped back to acoustic for “Harvest Moon”, the song that lent the gathering its name, the moon above him glowing almost too perfectly to be real. “After the Gold Rush” followed, just Neil at the piano, his voice trembling and pure as ever. When he returned to his electric for “Cortez the Killer”, complete with an extra verse and molten soloing that felt eternal, it was clear that, rather than a farewell, this was just another chapter in an endless story.

Neil ended the night with “Roll Another Number (For the Road)” as a quiet sendoff to the crowd and the camp that inspired it all. The Painted Turtle glowed softly behind him, and somewhere out beyond the hills, that harvest moon still hung, steady, luminous, and full of Neil Young’s indelible light.

What sets Harvest Moon Gathering apart is its spirit, in addition to its star power. Here, legends and newcomers shared not just a stage, but a purpose. The songs are hymns, the audience a congregation, and the moon itself feels like part of the band.

As the night wound down and Neil thanked everyone for helping the music go where it’s needed most, the camp glowed like a lantern in the valley, sustained once again by the efforts of the musicians who graced the stage and the crew that put it all together for charity.

In a time when music festivals often feel like noise for noise’s sake, Harvest Moon Gathering reminded everyone what it’s supposed to be: a celebration of empathy, melody, and community.

And as that harvest moon hung over Lake Hughes, the message lingered long after the amps went quiet.

Good songs can light up the night, but great ones can change lives.

Neil Young And The Chrome Hearts – Harvest Moon Gathering – 10/25/25 [Video Playlist]

[Video: gbauer10]

Setlist: Neil Young And The Chrome Hearts | Harvest Moon Gathering | The Painted Turtle | Lake Hughes, CA | 10/25/25
Set: Tumbleweed, Sugar Mountain, Old Man, Comes a Time, Human Highway, Heart of Gold, My Boy, Cowgirl in the Sand, Vampire Blues, Big Crime, Rockin’ in the Free World, Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black), Harvest Moon, After the Gold Rush, Cortez the Killer, Roll Another Number (For the Road)

Lana Del Rey – Harvest Moon Gathering – 10/25/25 [Full Set]

[Video: POP FLIKS]

Setlist: Lana Del Rey | Harvest Moon Gathering | The Painted Turtle | Lake Hughes, CA | 10/25/25
Set: The Needle and the Damage Done+, Husband of Mine / Stars Fell on Alabama, Summertime Sadness, Let the Light In, Norman Fucking Rockwell, Arcadia, Video Games, Do-Re-Mi%, Young and Beautiful
Notes:
+ Debut, first time played
% Sung acapella with niece, Phoenix

Beck – “Heart Is A Drum” – 10/25/25

[Video: czeringue]

Beck – “Where It’s At” – 10/25/25

[Video: czeringue]

Setlist: Beck | Harvest Moon Gathering | The Painted Turtle | Lake Hughes, CA | 10/25/25
Set: The Golden Age, Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime, Lost Cause, Heart Is a Drum, Tropicalia, Dead Melodies, Say Goodbye, Where It’s At, Loser, True Love Will Find You in the End