Watch Neil Young perform deep cut ‘My Boy’ for first time in 42 years
Neil Young has performed a number of deep cuts at a recent gig, including the first performance of ‘My Boy’ in over four decades.
Last week (May 23), Young performed a benefit gig at the Lakefield College School in Ontario, marking his first full-length show of the year. During the concert, he performed several deep cuts that hadn’t been played in front of a live audience in numerous years.
One of the highlights of his show was his performance of ‘My Boy’ for the first time since 1983. For the performance, he picked up the banjo for his loving ode to his eldest son Zeke: “Why are you growin’ up so fast / My boy? / Oh, you’d better take your time / Why are you growin’ up so fast my son?” – check out a clip of the performance here.
Elsewhere during the gig, he also played rarities like ‘Love/Art Blues’ for the first time since 2008, as well as the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young deep cut ‘Name Of Love’ for the first time in 11 years.
Just hours before taking the stage, Young teased the live return of ‘My Boy’, sharing a blogpost on his Neil Young Archives site along with a picture of himself with his father and a young Zeke: “Practicing for Lakefield, I was playing ‘My Boy,’ thinking about my own dad. I knew he must have heard this song. My dad was a great guy and Zeke is a wonderful son. I think ‘My Boy’ is my favorite recording of all the ones I have done.”
In other news, Young recently announced more support acts for his headline show at London’s BST Hyde Park 2025. The legendary Canadian artist will return to the capital on July 11, as part of his ‘Love Earth’ world tour with the Chrome Hearts. It’ll follow Young’s bill-topping set at Glastonbury Festival next month.
Young is headlining this year’s edition of the London concert series along with Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, Stevie Wonder, Zach Bryan, Noah Kahan and Jeff Lynne’s ELO. You can find any remaining tickets here.
Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts have announced further upcoming tour dates in Ireland, mainland Europe and North America. The musician had previously teased the dates online, writing: “We will come together this summer.”
He recently announced his first album with the Chrome Hearts, ‘Talkin To The Trees’, which arrives on June 13 via Reprise Records. Pre-order/pre-save here. Young and his new band have also shared a politically-charged single called ‘Let’s Roll Again’, as well as the record’s title track. These followed on from the previous song ‘Big Change’.
Young was confirmed as the first headliner for Glastonbury 2025 in early January, after he initially pulled out of the festival due to it being “a corporate turn-off”, owing to its partnership with the BBC. He first headlined Glastonbury Festival back in 2009 alongside Bruce Springsteen and Blur.
In other news, Young has called out Donald Trump following the US President’s recent online attacks on Bruce Springsteen and other musicians.
The post Watch Neil Young perform deep cut ‘My Boy’ for first time in 42 years appeared first on NME.
Surej Singh
NME
