I’m planning to celebrate the start of the new year by getting “Out on the Weekend,” with fellow Neil Young fans on January 7th, 2023 at The State Room. This show will feature an impressive lineup of locally-based artists paying homage to the 50th anniversary of the release of Young’s influential record Harvest.
This project initially launched in the fall as an all ages, alcohol-free show in Provo. Now they’ve graduated from the kids table to a sold-out adults-only gig in Salt Lake City. A host of Wasatch Front artists will perform Harvest in its entirety then jam the night away playing other Neil Young classics. The host band for this musical gala includes Marie Bradshaw, Daniel Young and Dylan Schorer of The Hollering Pines. Brian Hardy, TJ Nokleby, Pat Boyer, Paul Jacobsen and Neon Trees bassist Branden Campbell will join the Hollering Pines to round out the band. Guest artists like Joshua James, Stephanie Mabey, Ryan Innes, Mindy Gledhill and a host of other fine locally-based talent will join in for an evening of great music.
Fun fact: in March of 1972 Rolling Stone panned Harvest, citing the album as a weak imitation of Young’s earlier solo effort, After The Gold Rush, (an album which Rolling Stone called uniformly dull in 1970). Despite the bad review Harvest reached #1 on Billboard’s Top 200 and became the best selling album of 1972. It featured two hit singles “Heart of Gold” and “Old Man” and a host of other enduring classics like “The Needle and the Damage Done,” “Alabama,” and “Are You Ready for the Country.” In retrospect, Rolling Stone reversed course in 2002 and deemed Harvest as #72 on their list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” I guess they decided it wasn’t a weak imitation of a uniformly dull record after all. You can’t trust music writers anyway, (except me).
Utah is rich with exceptionally talented American Roots artists, like the Hollering Pines, who play country, rock, folk, blues, and bluegrass. So, I’m hoping that The State Room will continue to host these types of tribute shows (like the epic 2016 show that paid homage to Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA). So, just in case The State Room folks are reading this, I’ll offer a few suggestions: What about a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon? Then there’s Hank’s 100th birthday to commemorate. I can envision The State Room marque: “A 100 Years of Hank–A Musical Tribute.” It’s been 20 years since we lost Warren Zevon. I think a tribute is in order (who wouldn’t want to hear the Hollering Pines play “I Was in the House When the House Burned Down”?) I hope the Harvest show is just the beginning of these types of collaborative artistic showcases.
Tickets for this sold-out performance might still be available via resale by visiting The State Room website.
- What: Fifty Years of Neil Young’s Harvest–A Tribute
- Who: An all-star lineup of locally-based artists
- Where: The State Room
- When: January 7, 2023
- Tickets and info: https://thestateroompresents.com/state-room-presents/neil-young-tribute
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