See Neil Young Perform ‘New Mama’ for First Time in 42 Years

Neil Young headlined the Harvest Moon: A Gathering charity concert at Lake Hughes, California on Saturday along with Norah Jones and Father John Misty, a gig that benefitted the Bridge School and the Painted Turtle, a summer camp for severely-ill children. His 14-song acoustic set featured classics like “Old Man” and “Heart of Gold” along with new compositions like “Rainbow of Colors” and “Eternity,” but the most notable moment came near at the end when he played the Tonight’s The Night tune “New Mama” for the first time since 1977:

“All these places start off with kids,” he said before playing the song. “Kids make it happen and families slowly realize how real it is and they realize they have nowhere to go. Then they find a place like this and a place like the Bridge School. That’s why it’s so important because it’s all about those little kids and their eyes looking at you.”

Young wrote “New Mama” shortly after the birth of his son Zeke in September 1972. He played it throughout 1973 on his Time Fades Away and Tonight’s The Nighttours, but it only surfaced again when he guested with Stephen Stills at a lone gig in 1975 and then on August 12th, 1977 when he joined David Crosby and Graham Nash at the United Farms Workers Benefit at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium in Santa Cruz, California.

Neil Young and Crazy Horse are releasing the new album Colorado on October 25th, but they won’t hit the road until at least next year. Young’s only upcoming performances are Farm Aid in East Troy, Wisconsin on September 21st and a warmup show with Promise of the Real in Indianapolis, Indiana two days earlier.