Neil Young to Perform Rare Solo Benefit Concert Near Hometown in Lakefield, Ontario

Neil Young to Perform Rare Solo Benefit Concert Near Hometown in Lakefield, Ontario

Canadian rock icon Neil Young will take the stage for a rare solo performance on Friday, May 23, in a region close to his childhood home. The concert will be held at Lakefield College School’s Northcote Campus, an outdoor venue in Lakefield, Ontario, and is aimed at raising funds for the restoration of a historic farmhouse located on the Northcote property.

This meaningful event resonates deeply with Young’s personal history and values. The artist, known for his strong connection to themes of memory, nature, and community, spent formative years in Omemee, a small town just 20 kilometers west of Peterborough and not far from Lakefield. That close bond to his northern Ontario roots famously found expression in the song “Helpless,” which opens with the line: “There is a town in north Ontario.”

The cause behind the concert—the preservation of a piece of local history—aligns perfectly with Young’s ethos. The Northcote farmhouse restoration is a heritage project that echoes his longtime commitment to environmentalism, cultural preservation, and supporting local initiatives.

Young’s ties to the area have only strengthened over time. His father, renowned journalist and novelist Scott Young, purchased a family farm in Omemee that remained in the family until the late 1980s. More recently, Neil and his wife, actress Daryl Hannah, made headlines in 2020 when they moved into a 116-year-old cottage near Lakefield. They spent a significant portion of the pandemic there, having winterized the home and embraced the quiet beauty of the Kawarthas region.

This isn’t the first time Young has given back to his home community. In 2017, he performed a solo acoustic benefit concert at Omemee’s Coronation Hall. That show was live-streamed globally and successfully raised $18,000 for the music program at the Scott Young Public School, named after his father.

The upcoming Lakefield concert is set to begin at 7 p.m. and will be limited to a capacity of approximately 2,000 attendees, making it an exceptionally intimate opportunity to see the legendary performer live. Tickets for the event went on sale to the general public through Live Nation on Monday, April 7 at 10:00 a.m., and are expected to sell out quickly.

Neil Young will once again perform solo, a format that showcases the raw authenticity and emotional depth that have defined his storied career. While he continues to tour internationally, Young has expressed discomfort with the current political climate in the United States, particularly under the Trump administration. In a recent post on his Neil Young Archives website, he shared concerns about potential consequences for speaking out:

“When I go to play music in Europe, if I talk about Donald J. Trump, I may be one of those returning to America who is barred or put in jail to sleep on a cement floor with an aluminum blanket,” he wrote on April 1.

In returning to Lakefield, Young finds not only a safe haven but also an opportunity to give back to a place that shaped him—and that he continues to cherish.