Neil Young appeared at this year’s Farm Aid festival on Saturday night in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Wearing his signature black jeans, flannel shirt and fedora-esque hat, Young played through eight songs ranging from classics like “Heart of Gold” and “Powderfinger,” to newer songs like “Love Earth.”
You can view Young’s complete set list below.
“We’re fighting for our lives,” Young said at a pre-show press conference, emphasizing the need to support local American farmers instead of large corporations. “Remember that we’re causing this [climate change]. … Every day we have an opportunity to be more together than we were yesterday.”
Young’s set followed performances by John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and a host of others: Mavis Staples, Margo Price, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, Lukas Nelson with the Travelin’ McCourys, Charley Crockett, Joy Oladokun, Southern Avenue, Cassandra Lewis and Jesse Welles. The evening will conclude with a performance by Willie Nelson.
Neil Young’s Slow Return to the Road
Young’s performance schedule this year has been rocky. In April, he launched a tour with Crazy Horse that was ultimately canceled on account of illness.
“A couple of us really hit a wall,” he later explained. “I just woke up one morning on the bus and I said, ‘I can’t do this; I gotta stop.’ I felt sick when I thought of going onstage. My body was telling me, ‘You gotta stop.’ And so I listened to my body.”
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Young noted then that he plans to schedule smaller shows — he has already announced two shows at the Capitol Theatre, near New York City. “They’re mostly theaters that I played before – little theaters,” he said. “I can play a little bit of acoustic and then have the band come out and play.”
With the exception of 2021 and 2022, Young has performed at every Farm Aid since its inception.
Neil Young, Farm Aid 2024, Set List1. “From Hank to Hendrix”2. “Harvest Moon”3. “Unknown Legend”4. “Journey Through the Past”5. “Love Earth” (Neil Young & Crazy Horse cover)6. “Heart of Gold”7. “Homegrown”8. “Powderfinger” (Neil Young & Crazy Horse cover)
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He’s one of rock’s most brilliant, confounding, defiant and frustrating artists.
Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci
