Neil Young to Perform at Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Concert

Neil Young is scheduled to play at Willie Nelson‘s 90th birthday concert in April, marking his first public performance in more than three years.

Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90, A Star-Studded Concert Celebrating Willie’s 90th Birthday will take place on April 29 and 30 at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl, where a wide cast of artists will perform.

Guests include Young, Beck, Billy Strings, Bob Weir, Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves, Margo Price, Miranda Lambert, Nathaniel Rateliff, Norah Jones, Rosanne Cash, Sheryl Crow, Snoop Dogg, Tom Jones, Warren Haynes and Ziggy Marley. According to a press release, additional artists will be announced in the coming weeks.

“I can’t think of a better way to spend my 90th birthday than being surrounded by family, friends and of course the fans who made this all possible,” Nelson said in a statement. “It’s an honor to perform with such an incredible group of artists at such an iconic venue.”

Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Jan. 28. More details can be found on the event’s website.

Young performed at a handful of private events in 2020 but has not played a public concert since 2019, and has often cited environmental concerns as his reason for not hitting the road. (Other artists, like Brian Eno, have expressed similar concerns over the global impact of touring.)

In a recent interview with The New Yorker, Young said that if he were to tour again, the trek would need to be fully environmentally friendly. ”I have a plan,” he said. “I’ve been working on it with a couple of my friends for about seven or eight months. We’re trying to figure out how to do a self-sustaining, renewable tour. Everything that moves our vehicles around, the stage, the lights, the sound, everything that powers it is clean. Nothing dirty with us. We set it up; we do this everywhere we go.”

Young explained that the tour would include things like the food at venues coming from “real farmers,” as well as all other drink and merchandise sales being “clean.” He also noted that the tour could operate with various artists.

“Once it’s up and going, and I’m finished with my part of the tour, there’s no reason why the tour has to stop,” he said. “The tour can keep on going with another headliner. It’s about sustainability and renewability in the future, loving Earth for what it is. We want to do the right thing. That’s kind of the idea.”