Neil Young will perform his first concert in four years on April 22nd as part of Stephen Stills‘ Light Up The Blues benefit for Autism Speaks. The annual fundraiser organized by Young’s former Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young bandmate will also feature Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Stills’ sons Chris and Oliver Stills, and other special guests.
“We’ll be there to ‘Light up the Blues’ with Stephen, [his wife] Kristen and the family,” Young told Rolling Stone in a statement, “doing or first show in four years with old friends for our autistic people around the world.”
This year’s concert at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles will mark the sixth edition of Light Up The Blues since it began in 2013. The program was originally planned for April 2020 but was canceled due to the pandemic. Organizers considered hosting a virtual event in 2021, but the idea didn’t gain much traction.
“I always hated the idea of a virtual show,” Stephen Stills said. “The only one that pulled it off was the Stephen Colbert band with Jon Batiste. Everyone else tried, but it was a joke.”
In the past, Light Up The Blueshas hosted performances from Crosby, Stills & Nash, Patti Smith, Brandi Carlile, John Mayer, Beck, and many others. David Crosby’s son James Raymond will take part in a tribute to his late father who passed away last month at the age of 81. Rolling Stone points out that Graham Nash has a concert in Pittsburgh scheduled for the night of the benefit.
Additional performers include opera singer Amanda Anderson, rapper Soul Shocka, and former The Voice contestant Bill Breman, all of whom are on the autism spectrum.
“I’m checking my inbox as we speak,” Stephen’s wife and concert organizer Kristen Stills said of the still-developing lineup. “We’re on the precipice of confirming many fantastic guests, and we never disappoint with our surprise additions. Some of them will be announced prior to the show, and there will be some surprises guaranteed on that night.”
For the concert’s grand finale, Neil Young and Stephen Stills will join forces for a set backed by Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real. Previous shows have seen them dig up old Buffalo Springfield songs as well as explore their respective solo catalogs, though as Stills told Rolling Stone, even he isn’t sure what they have planned yet.
“It’s all very fluid until we get to the rehearsal day two days before the dress rehearsal,” Stills said. “We make up the show in this remote rehearsal site. And because time is compressed, we don’t have time to do anything besides what we come up with right away.”
Tickets for the Light Up The Blues benefit for Autism Speaks featuring Neil Young and Stephen Stills go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time.