Neil Young doesn't know how to rest. Seconds before he was due to go onstage and wow an audience gathered at Virginia's Nissan Pavilion as part of the Farm Aid 2000 lineup, he was already making plans for the 14th annual Bridge School
Benefit Concert this year in Mountain View, Calif.
According to Young, the lineup for the acoustic concerts on October 28 and 29 will include the Dave Matthews Band, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beck, Foo Fighters, Hank Williams III, and Young's old cohorts Crosby, Stills & Nash. A reunion of CSNY was scheduled for last year's concert, but was called off after Graham Nash broke his legs in a boating accident.
Rumors also abound that Rage Against the Machine will perform, although most of those rumors are found on the band's message boards. However, more guests may be announced in the coming weeks.
Proceeds from the benefit go toward funding the Bridge School. Neil Young's wife, Pegi, Jim Forderer, and Marilyn Buzolich founded the school in 1986. Young's two children Ben and Zeke both have physical and speech disabilities. Special programs at the school cater to these students. More information can be found on their Web site at www.bridgeschool.org.
Young has shown his support for the school by organizing the benefit concert, whose debut in 1986 featured unplugged performances from artists like Bruce Springsteen and Don Henley. Last year's featured performers were Green Day. Young traditionally opens the show with a performance of the Buffalo Springfield song "I Am a Child."
Tickets are available from Ticketmaster and the venue box office on Sunday, September 24 at 10 a.m. PT. Lawn tickets are available for $38, while reserved seats are $48. Saturday's show begins at 5 p.m.; Sunday's show starts at 2 p.m.
Young also took time to note that although presidential candidates Pat Buchanan, Ralph Nader, and John Hagelin all appeared at Farm Aid to discuss what they would do for farmers, "notably absent was anyone from the Republican camp, even though they were invited.
"It looks like another one of Bush's great moves," he grinned. Speaking of great moves, did anybody see Tipper Gore playing bongos with Willie Nelson? You unlucky people.
For his set at Farm Aid, Young was backed by his touring band, which consists of bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn, keyboardist Spooner Oldham, drummer Jim Keltner, and guitarist Ben Keith. Among the songs he performed were "From Hank to Hendrix," "Powderfinger," and "Cowgirl in the Sand." He also performed "Cinnamon Girl" with CSN.
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