Neil Young Lucky 17

Not too long ago (a year or so) and while Axel Rudi Pell, was touring in support of his latest opus “Into the Storm”, the “25th Anniversary” of his came up and with it, the idea to celebrate the proceedings in a special way, so the stage was set, for a live performance at that years installation of “Bang Your Head” festival in Balingen/Germany, that was special and memorable for a variety of reasons. For the first time in absolutely ages, Axel, did perform a short four song set with his original band Steeler (not to be confused with the Ron Keel led American “Steeler” which also featured guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen) then a set that utilized as many of the studio singers as possible, was performed, with them, singing their “own” era’s material and finally a bunch of classic rock tracks were performed by the band enlisting the aid of some special guests/friends…

2020 was not quite what Jay Farrar was expecting for the 25th anniversary of Son Volt, the band he started in 1995 after leaving the seminal group Uncle Tupelo, whose No Depression album helped define the alt-country and Americana genre. The group had just finished an Outlaw Country Cruise when the pandemic hit and sent them into their homes on lockdown.