CONCERT REPORT: Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts @ Philadelphia, PA - September 24, 2026

Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts Philadelphia, PA - September 24, 2026
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Here's a concert report on Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts @ Philadelphia, PA on September 24, 2026 by our buddy Cheryl B, the lead singer in The MOJO Hounds.

Printed with permission via Facebook.

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About last night…

I went to Philadelphia last night to see 93-year-old Willie Nelson and 80-year-old Neil Young. Thanks for driving, Randy Schechter. Thanks for bringing snacks, Lance.

I’ve seen Willie Nelson and Neil Young in concert multiple times. I’ve seen Willie about 10 times, and I’ve seen Neil about 35 times. Willie’s sets don’t vary that much, but he always sounds good. Neil’s set can vary a lot depending on the band and the tour.

We didn’t get to the venue until almost 7, and we didn’t rush inside, so we didn’t hear all of the opening act, Ty Myers. What we heard sounded good. He did a 30-minute set. I’ll have to check him out a bit more. If he was invited to open for Willie and Neil, then he must be pretty good.

Willie Nelson and the family band hit the stage at 8:01. The opening song was a prerecorded song and video montage, Living in the Promiseland. It’s a cover song that Willie made a video for several years ago. The song is about caring for the poor and helping immigrants, and the video features a lot of poor people in black & white photos standing in lines and in soup kitchens. Clearly a political message. At 8:06, the curtain pictured in the photo dropped and Willie Nelson and his band were there. His band included Mickey Raphael, who may well be the best harmonica player ever. I am always so impressed with Mickey’s playing. He’s never shrill. His melodies are delicate. He never overplays, in fact, he always leaves me wishing he had played a bit more. He really understands Willie’s style of phrasing, and Mickey jumps in with just right note of emphasis at just the right moment.

Willie is still wringing sweet notes out his battered guitar, Trigger. He sang lead vocals, but it’s obvious that he doesn’t have the same vocal strength as in the past. He’d sing a verse, and then look a little winded, and then Micah or Lukas would pick up the vocals. He beams with pride as he listens to his sons play. The band included Willie’s sons Micah Nelson (also known as Particle Kid) on guitar and vocals and Lukas Nelson on guitar and vocals. He had Billy English and Kevin Smith on drums and bass. Micah and Lukas can both sound like Willie when needed but also have their own playing styles and vocal styles. They played a tight set, rolling quickly from one song to another. They also played fairly fast, which may also explain why Willie seemed winded at the end of some verses. At 93 years old, I am amazed that he can still play and sing and sound great, and that he even wants to tour at all. At one show a few years ago, Willie told us that he plans to play until he dies, and that he might die right on stage, but hopefully for all of us there, it wouldn’t be that night! I’m glad it wasn’t last night either. I’m not sure if this is the last Willie Nelson concert I’ll ever see. I would go again, primarily because of Mickey Raphael and Micah and Lukas. Willie has clearly peaked, but man, what a career and what a legacy. I own about 15 of Willie’s records, which sounds like a lot until you realize he has released more than 100 records.

Micah introduced his song, “Die When I’m High (Halfway to Heaven) as “Here’s a Wilie Nelson song I wrote.” He said that Willie once said, “I’m so high, if I die, I’ll be halfway to heaven.” Micah said, “You have to write that song right now.” Willie said, “Why don’t you write it?” So, Micah did. It’s a really good song, and quite funny.

Willie called Neil out to sing and play on “Are There Any More Real Cowboys”. It’s Neil’s song. Willie sang the second verse, and they all sang on the chorus. It was nice.

Willie’s set was a little more than an hour. We were sitting in the last row of the pavilion. Luckily, it didn’t rain. But it was pretty chilly. I am glad I wore long underwear, and I had a winter jacket and hat. Willie played in a winter jacket. Did I mention it was cold? And being in the last row of the pavilion, it was also windy! Summer’s over. I’m ready for indoor shows. The set break was exactly 30 minutes.

Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts hit the stage. Spooner Oldman on organ, Corey McCormick and Anthony LoGerfo on bass and drums, both from Lukas Nelson’s band Promise of the Real. Micah Nelson was on guitar and vocals, and Lukas Nelson was on piano for a few songs.

Neil sounded really good vocally. The sound for the first few Willie songs seemed a little too low, but they worked that out during his set, and the sound for Neil was really good. I could hear all of the instruments clearly. He hit some crowd favorites, and I’ll admit, even though I’ve heard them a lot, “Comes a Time”, “Old Man” and “Heart of Gold” still stand as strong songs, and the crowd knew every word. “Harvest Moon” was lovely. And “After the Gold Rush” hit the mark too. His newest record includes some songs written in the mid-sixties for a record that never got released, so as Neil said, “It’s basically a new song.” That was “Casting Me Away from You.” “Earth Girl” is also off of Neil’s newest record. Acoustic Neil is aways nice, but the real fun begins when he straps on an electric guitar. 

Powderfinger was as good a version as I’ve ever heard. I thought I would miss his old band, Crazy Horse, but I didn’t. I was happy to hear “Roll Another Number (For the Road), but I would have preferred to hear “Tonight’s the Night” from that record. Neil played for about an hour and 10 minutes. I would have happily listened for an hour more. And I am still not tired of hearing “Rockin’ in the Free World” because it’s a great song. Neil’s tour t-shirt says, “Keep Freedom Free.” I didn’t buy one (because I really do not need any more concert t-shirts, especially black ones.) But I love and live the sentiment. Keep Freedom Free!

Overall, a nice show. I would have happily not had Ty Myers on the bill and have had Willie and Neil play longer sets. But I also realize that expecting longer sets from 80-year-old and 93-year-old musicians is probably not reasonable, so I’ll take what we got. What did come through was the joy Willie and Neil get from playing. I’ve never seen a bad or disappointing show from either of them. They spread real joy through their music. I’m really happy both of them are willing to still tour and give us a taste of the power of their music. 

I just realized as I went to post this that I never took a photo of Willie on stage. Oops!

Thanks to setlist.fm for the setlists, which are accurate to my memory.

Opening Act: Ty Myers

Willie Nelson and the Family Band

Living in the Promiseland (David Lynn Jones song) video

Whiskey River

Stay a Little Longer

Still is Still Moving to Me

Bloody Mary Morning

I Never Cared for You

Die When I’m High (Halfway to Heaven) (Particle Kid)

Workin’ Man Blues

Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys

Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground

On the Road Again

You Were Always on My Mind

Good Hearted Woman

Georgia (On My Mind)

Help Me Make It Through the Night

Everything is Bullshit (Particle Kid song)

Last Leaf

Are There Any More Real Cowboys (joined by Neil Young, it’s his song)

I Thought About You, Lord

Roll Me UP and Smoke Me When I Die

Will the Circle Be Unbroken? > I’ll Fly Away

I Saw the Light (instrumental closing as Willie left the stage)

Neil Young & the Chrome Hearts

Long May You Run

Human Highway

Comes a Time

Casting Me Away from You

Earth Girl

Old Man

Heart of Gold

Daddy Went Walkin’

Harvest Moon

After the Gold Rush

Powderfinger

Roll Another Number (For the Road)

Encore:

Living With War

Keep On Rockin’ in the Free World

Randy, Lance & Cheryl

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Thanks for the report Cheryl! See you down the road.

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Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts - Casting Me Away From You (Mann Center, Philly 09-24-2026)

Thanks for the share RoadDawg!

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