Neil Young is back with a new album, a new band and a new tour
The Chrome Hearts are “Rockin in the Free World”
May 23, 2024. Neil Young & Crazy Horse were in the middle of their “Love Earth Tour.” They were scheduled to play in Chicago that night. Two hours before the concert was supposed to begin, the event was canceled—someone in the band was ill. The same thing occurred at the next stop. The illnesses continued until eventually the rest of the tour was canceled.
We never did find out who was ill, but when you have a group of eighty-ish-year-old men, it’s not surprising. It’s not just Neil canceling shows; we’ve seen it from The Pretenders, Rod Stewart, plus Dave Mason canceled his gigs for the rest of 2025.
It’s a year later, and summer means it’s time for musicians to hit the road. Young is back with a new band, “The Chrome Hearts.” They first got together to play at Farm Aid last fall. It went well enough that they went ahead with this year’s tour. They are musicians that Young has played with before on different projects, including organist Spooner Oldham, who played on Young’s legendary song, “Harvest Moon,” and guitarist Micah Nelson, Willie’s son.
When Young hits the road, he usually likes to have some new music to perform, along with his hits and deep tracks. That led to the new album, “Talkin to the Trees.” The record gives you a large taste of what you like or even dislike about Young. You’ll find both the mellow acoustic songs and the hard-rocking grunge-type tunes. There are songs about his family—even the ones from whom he’s estranged, his love for his life with his wife, Daryl Hannah, the environment, and politics. He even has a couple of tunes with the melody from Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land.” But, the final song on the album, “Thankful”, is the one that shows his gratitude for everything that has happened in life—both the good and bad. If you’re going to take one thing away from this album, this is it. It’s a lesson we all try to live up to, but sometimes forget.
The first leg of his tour began in Sweden last week. Interestingly, in his four European shows, not one song from the new album has been played live. The setlist is full of his classics such as “Cinnamon Girl”, “Harvest Moon”, “Down by the River” and “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
But there are plenty of dates to come—the American swing begins August 8, in Charlotte—so don't be surprised if Neil drops in a few of the new tunes—or even if he performs the album in its entirety. You never know what Neil Young is going to do from night to night. That’s what keeps it interesting for both him and his audience. That’s also why he remains relevant in the music world while so many of his contemporaries have stopped trying.