Photo by Wes Orshoski

On Friday, May 23, Neil Young performed a solo acoustic set on the campus of Lakefield College School in Lakefield, Ontario, to benefit a restoration project and the preservation of a 116-year-old neighboring cabin. The intimate gig marked the musician’s return to the stage this calendar year, ahead of a vast tour itinerary that picks up in Europe, before coming to the States. During Young’s latest act, he dusted off “My Boy” for the first time since 1983 and introduced the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young deep cut “Name of Love” into his live repertoire. 

Prior to the unveiling of the aforementioned numbers, Young found an entrance on the fan favorite “Comes a Time.” The stripped-down acoustic format functioned like a sonic reference point to 1968’s Live at the Canterbury House on account of the arrival of “Sugar Mountain.” The nostalgic hair-raiser was performed for the first time since 2020, effectively ending a five-year performance lapse, and ushering in a pattern that would persist throughout the 18-song performance. 

Young kept up adolescent references with “I Am a Child,” before ‘72 era salvation on “Heart of Gold.” Next, he delivered “Field of Opportunity,” and the first “Out on the Weekend” since 2019, before accounting for Ragged Glory feature, “Love and Only Love,” which ushered in the concert climax: “My Boy.” The last time the Old Ways cut was included in a concert was 1983 during his Solo Trans tour. The song appeared on 22 setlists the year it was recorded, and later appeared on his 1985-released 15th studio set. “My Boy” references Young’s song Zeke, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a child, and conjured emotion with its arrival at Friday’s concert. 

Young referenced “Mellow My Mind” for the first time since 2019, and followed up with crowd-pleaser, “Harvest Moon,” ahead of “Homegrown” and “Love Art Blues.” The latter’s arrival effectively ended a five-year lapse in play. The guitar great turned in renditions of beloved numbers, “Long May You Run” and “Helpless,” before a live debut of the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young rarity, “Name of Love,” a feature of the foursome’s 1988 LP American Dream. 

For the final movements of his benefit performance, Young harnessed his might to “After the Gold Rush” before a concert reminder of devotion to nature on “Love Earth.” For his encore, Young played “Old Man.” Next, Young is scheduled to take the stage on June 18 in Sweden for the onset of the European leg of his Love Earth Tour.

Neil Young 

Lakefield Northcote Campus – Lakefield, Ontario 

May 23, 2025 

Set: Comes a Time, Sugar Mountain, I Am a Child, Heart of Gold, Field of Opportunity, Out on the Weekend, Love and Only Love, My Boy+, Mellow My Mind, Harvest Moon, Homegrown, Love Art Blues, Long May You Run, Helpless, Name of Love#, After the Gold Rush, Love Earth

Enc.: Old Man

Notes: 

+ Bust out, last played on Feb. 10, 1983 

# Live debut