Neil Young and Van Morrison to play at Malahide Castle this summer

The veteran rocker’s last Irish gig was with Bob Dylan in Kilkenny six years ago

Neil Young at Glastonbury Festival in 2009. PhotographL Matt Cardy/Getty Images
Neil Young at Glastonbury Festival in 2009. PhotographL Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Canadian-American rock singer Neil Young will return to Ireland to play at Malahide Castle, Co Dublin, on Thursday June 26th. The 79-year-old veteran rocker will have his band, the Chrome Hearts, in tow as part of their Love Earth world tour, which kicks off in Sweden on June 18th.

Northern Irish songwriter Van Morrison, who’s also 79, has been announced as the special guest

Chrome Hearts members – Spooner Oldham (Farfisa organ), Micah Nelson (guitar and vocal), Corey McCormick (bass and vocal), Anthony LoGerfo (drums) – will share the stage with Young as the group promise to perform a mix of old hits and new music. Their new single, Big Change, released last month, is the first taste of what’s to come on the tour.

The singer’s partnership with Farm Aid, which Young cofounded in 1985, will bring “homegrown” concessions to his shows. According to the tour’s organisers, this initiative will bring “family farm food – produced sustainably with a fair price paid to the farmer and served on compostable serviceware – to music venues”.

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Van Morrison in The Iveagh Gardens. Photographed: Bryan Meade/ The Irish Times
Van Morrison in The Iveagh Gardens. Photographed: Bryan Meade/ The Irish Times

The Malahide gig marks Young’s first visit to Ireland since he headlined with Bob Dylan in Kilkenny’s Nowlan Park in 2019, with his Promise of the Real band.

Tickets range from €89.90 to €99.90 and are available from Tuesday, February 25th, via an exclusive 48-hour presale for Neil Young Archives members. General ticket sales begins this Friday, February 28th, at 10am via Ticketmaster.