Sights and Sounds: Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Gary Clark Jr., Blackmore's Night

Here is a roundup of several newsworthy items from the musical universe...

NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE TO PERFORM BENEFIT CONCERT FOR VICTIMS OF HURRICANE SANDY NEXT THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6^TH

"A SPECIAL EVENING WITH NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE" TO TAKE PLACE AT BORGATA HOTEL CASINO & SPA IN ATLANTIC CITY

TICKETS GO ON SALE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30^TH AT 10 AM

November 29, 2012 - (Atlantic City, NJ) - Neil Young & Crazy Horse have announced that they will perform a special benefit concert on December 6^th, 2012, at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, NJ, with proceeds going to aid victims of Superstorm Sandy. Devastated by the damage and displacement caused by hurricane, Young urged:"Come on down here and join in the relief effort."  

Proceeds will go to the AMERICAN RED CROSS HURRICANE SANDY relief effort.  For more info go to: redcross.org/hurricane-sandy

Tickets for the event, billed as "A Special Evening With Neil Young & Crazy Horse," go on sale Friday, November 30 at 10am at TheBorgata.com or by-phone at 866-900-4TIX (4849) and will be priced at $75 and $150. All seating is general admission. Everest will open the show. Young will be available for a select number of interviews regarding the Hurricane relief.

Crazy Horse, which is Young, Billy Talbot, Ralph Molina, and Poncho Sampredo, has been touring North America this in support of its latest album Psychedelic Pill.

AUSTIN CITY LIMITS TO LIVE-STREAM GARY CLARK JR.'S ACL TAPING ON NOVEMBER 30TH AT 8 p.m. CST

EPISODE AIRS FEBRUARY 16TH ON PBS STATIONS


Austin's own rising star, rock 'n' soul phenomenon Gary Clark Jr. makes his highly-anticipated return to Austin City Limits (ACL) this week, and ACL announces the taping will be live-streamed on Friday, November 30, 2012 at 8 p.m. Central Time. Fans can log-on to ACL's YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/AustinCityLimitsTV) Channel and will have the opportunity to watch Gary Clark Jr. perform live direct from The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. The live-stream will webcast the taping in its entirety and the broadcast episode will air February 16, 2013 on PBS stations as part of ACL's Season 38.

Gary Clark Jr. has been tearing up Austin stages since he was a teenager, and the twenty-eight year old singer-guitarist recently made a name for himself across the globe with the release of his critically acclaimed major-label debut Blak and Blu. Entertainment Weekly raves, "Every generation has its chosen one and right now, this is Clark's time." Austin American Statesman says, "The kid used to be a local secret. Then the rest of the world caught on." The New York Times hails Clark as "a guitarist of deep magnetism and tremendous feel," while Billboard calls him a "game-changer" and Spin agrees, "There truly is nobody else like him around." Known for his blistering live performances, Clark has been on a sold-out U.S. tour flaunting his six-string chops and thrilling audiences with his bold mix of blues, rock, soul and funk.


Clark made his auspicious ACL debut back in Season 33 as part of the Tribute to Bluesman Jimmy Reed, with Jimmie Vaughan and Omar Dykes, impressing his fellow musicians and ACL's viewers. On November 30, he takes the Austin City Limits stage to show what he can do with his own music.

Learn more about Austin City Limits, programming and history at www.acltv.com. For more info on Gary Clark Jr., visit his official Web site at http://www.garyclarkjr.com/.

BLACKMORE'S NIGHT RELEASES LIVE DVD/CD, "A KNIGHT IN YORK," ON UDR RECORDS    Performance recorded last fall in York, England perfectly captures ambience and musical joy of a Blackmore's Night show Storm-Delayed New York Concert Rescheduled for December 12

Blackmore's Night Blackmore's Night, the Renaissance rock band of iconic guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and award-winning singer/songwriter Candice Night, has once again thrilled fans worldwide with their latest concert DVD/CD release, A KNIGHT IN YORK. The CD release debuted at #2 on Billboard Magazine's New Age chart in its first week of release.  Recorded live on September 30, 2011 at the Grand Opera House in York, England, A KNIGHT IN YORK is Blackmore's Night's third DVD release.  It perfectly captures the essence of the Blackmore's Night experience. The "band of minstrels," dressed in festive medieval garb, bring out the sheer joy and authenticity of Blackmore's Night's music, and the splendor of Ritchie Blackmore's musicianship is perfectly coupled with the ethereal presence of Candice Night's voice during this special autumn night performing in the city of York.    "York is an absolutely beautiful and historic city with a medieval wall fortifying the area," says Candice Night, of the town that was England's capital before London. "Just being in that town makes you feel as if you have stepped back in time. And, since we filmed in a 12th century castle and a historic theater for the last two DVDs, a beautiful English opera house seemed like the next logical choice." A KNIGHT IN YORK represents the first show back in England for Ritchie Blackmore in four years. The Opera House holds a special place in his memory as one when he, as a starving musician many years ago, took up the challenge of spending the night in the allegedly haunted building. That night, he says, "I heard a voice whisper to me 'Aubrey.' Now whenever we come back to that venue," says Blackmore, "we speak directly to the ghost, acknowledge Aubrey's existence, and the show goes smoothly."    Much of the material on A KNIGHT IN YORK is culled from the band's two most recent masterful albums, SECRET VOYAGE and AUTUMN SKY.  Songs from both those albums, like "Locked Within the Crystal Ball" and "The Circle," are standouts on A KNIGHT IN YORK as they had already become favorites of the faithful.  Of course, classic songs such as "Fires at Midnight" and "Dandelion Wine," from Blackmore's Night's earlier albums, are performed as well.  And there is a marvelous rendition of Swedish folk duo Nordman's "Journeyman" and a stunning interpretation of the Bee Gees ballad "First of May." "I loved how 'First of May' came out," explains Night. "Though it's not an original song of ours, we play that one on very special occasions, and we had never recorded it before. You really feel vulnerable and naked on stage when you are singing a song as intimate as that one.  But when it works, it's magic." Through traditional melodies and original arrangements, Blackmore's Night takes listeners on a journey to another time when a music performance was a much-treasured escape.  Fans were able to capture their own unique live experience of Blackmore's Night this autumn as the band performed select dates in North America.  A special concert in New York City, as well as one in Wilmington, Delaware, were postponed in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, which ravaged not only New York City, but Long Island where the Blackmores reside.     The shows have been rescheduled for Sunday, December 9 at the World Café Live in Wilmington and Wednesday, December 12 at The Concert Hall at New York Society for Ethical Culture in New York City.  For ticket information, check www.blackmoresnight.com. Ritchie Blackmore, who has made an indelible mark on hard rock music, has continued his storied career with the magic of Blackmore's Night.  With vocalist (and wife) Candice Night by his side, Blackmore has almost as much time invested in Blackmore's Night as he did with his legacy in Deep Purple.  Since 1997, Blackmore's Night has won numerous gold records and awards.  The band's last studio album, AUTUMN SKY (2010), debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard New Age charts and remained in the Top 10 for 40 weeks.  Now, with the popularity of history-based television series like HBO's Game of Thrones and Showtime's The Tudors, Blackmore's Night's established brand of Renaissance-inspired music is attracting an ever growing legion of fans.     Blackmore's Night's concert film A KNIGHT IN YORK is  available in DVD and Blu-ray format from UDR Records, distributed in the U.S. by EMI.  A KNIGHT IN YORK is also available in a special DVD/CD/Blu-ray Digipak, audio CD, double vinyl 12" LP (gatefold), digital downloads for both audio and video and a special, limited edition "fan package" (details available at www.udr-music.com). A KNIGHT IN YORK track listing: 01 Locked Within The Crystal Ball 02 Gilded Cage 03 The Circle 04 Journeyman 05 World Of Stone 06 The Peasant's Promise 07 Toast To Tomorrow 08 Fires At Midnight 09 Barbara Allen 10 Darkness 11 Dance Of The Darkness 12 Dandelion Wine 13 All The Fun Of The Fayre 14 First Of May