Neil Young on Why He Won’t Tour: “It Gives Me a Sick Feeling”

Despite being consistently busy in the studio, Neil Young has no plans of touring any time soon. 

“I don’t want to put people in danger,” he revealed in a recent interview. “I don’t want people to see me out there and think I think everything is OK. I don’t think everything is OK.”

With his last live show being a pre-pandemic appearance in September 2019, Young scheduled a return for Farm Aid next April—but, he decided to cancel due to a concern of catalyzing a super-spreader event.

“It was too soon,” Young admitted. “I just I told my buddies there, Farm Aid, I said, ‘I can’t do it. It gives me a sick feeling.’”

“We need to sit down and let it settle out for a while, let things calm down and then talk about coming back,” the Crazy Horse rocker continued. “I would hope that when I do come back and start playing again, knock on wood, that everything is safe, but things have to be under control and going in one direction for a while before I’m going to go out and play.”

Photo credit: Ben Houdijk / Shutterstock.com