Neil Young to play live for first time since 2019 as Willie Nelson celebrates 90th birthday at all-star concert

NASHVILLE –

Texas troubadour Willie Nelson will celebrate his 90th birthday with his friends and family at an all-star concert this April and among the performers is Neil Young.

The “Harvest Moon” folk legend will play live for the first time since 2019. He paused concerts during the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to slow the spread of the virus.

The Omemee, Ont.-raised Young will be joined on the schedule by Montrealer Allison Russell and Orville Peck, who was raised in South Africa but is based in Canada.

The two-night Nelson celebration — dubbed Long Story Short — will be held at the Hollywood Bowl on April 29-30 and also feature Chris Stapleton, Lyle Lovett, Miranda Lambert, Rosanne Cash, Snoop Dogg, The Chicks, Kacey Musgraves and many more.

Six decades into his career, the singer-songwriter, author and activist is still going strong, with a new album — “I Don’t Know a Thing About Love” — coming in March and a five-part documentary premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. He’s also nominated for four Grammys this year. Some of his biggest hits include “On The Road Again,” “Crazy” and “Funny How Time Slips Away.”

Additional performers include Norah Jones, Tom Jones, Tyler Childers, Warren Haynes, Ziggy Marley, Sturgill Simpson, Beck, Billy Strings, Bobby Weir, Charley Crockett, Edie Brickell, Leon Bridges, Margo Price, Nathaniel Rateliff, Sheryl Crow, The Avett Brothers, The Lumineers, and Nelson’s sons, Lukas Nelson and Micah Nelson, the latter of whom performs as Particle Kid.

Young’s return to live music comes after he backed out of the 2021 Farm Aid festival in Hartford, Conn., as the Delta variant drove up COVID-19 case counts.

At that time, he said he felt it would be wrong to risk people dying or spreading COVID-19 to unvaccinated children by attending the concert, but he respected his fellow musicians, including Nelson, who moved forward with that sold-out fundraiser for U.S. farm workers.

Tickets for Nelson’s 90th birthday concerts go on sale to the general public on Jan. 28, with a presale starting on Wednesday.