Folk rock progenitors Neil Young and Stephen Stills were both on the lineup for the Light Up The Blues autism benefit at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre on Saturday, 22nd April. The event was hosted by Stills and his wife Kristen, and the lineup also featured Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real and Stills’ sons, Chris and Oliver Stills.
Young and Stills – co-founders of Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – both paid tribute to their late CSNY bandmate, David Crosby, who passed away in January at the age of 81. Young’s set included a performance of ‘Helpless’ from CSNY’s seminal 1970 release, Déjà Vu, featuring Stills on piano and backing vocals.
Neil Young & Stephen Stills – ‘Helpless’ (Live at the Greek)
Stills began his set with a performance of ‘Wooden Ships’, a Crosby original that appeared on 1969’s Crosby, Stills & Nash. Following ‘Helpless’, Young and Stills turned the clock back even further to perform the Buffalo Springfield songs ‘On the Way Home’, ‘Everybody’s Wrong’, ‘Bluebird’, ‘Mr. Soul’ and the anti-war anthem ‘For What It’s Worth’.
The pair’s trip down memory lane concluded with ‘Long May You Run’, the title track from 1976’s lone album credited to The Stills-Young Band.
Neil Young & Stephen Stills – ‘Long May You Run’ (Live at the Greek)
Days after Crosby’s death, Young posted a memorial to the Neil Young Archives in which he described his former bandmate as “The soul of CSNY.” “David’s voice, and energy were at the heart of our band,” Young wrote. “His great songs stood for what we believed in and it was always fun and exciting when we got to play together.”
Further Reading
Neil Young Calls David Crosby “The Soul Of CSNY” In Online Memorial
Neil Young Claims He’ll Only Tour Again If It’s Environmentally Sustainable
