Shane Nicholson On Celebrating Neil Young From Harvest To Harvest Moon
A wonderful night of music and memories awaits fans as Celebrating Neil Young: From Harvest to Harvest Moon hits the stage to pay tribute to one of the most influential musicians in rock history, Neil Young. This highly anticipated event will feature a star-studded lineup of vocalists, including Jeff Martin (The Tea Party), Shane Nicholson (multiple ARIA and Golden Guitar winner), and Richie Lewis (Tumbleweed). Together, they will deliver a heartfelt celebration of Neil Young’s unparalleled legacy, bringing his classic hits to life in their own unique way.
For almost six decades, Neil Young’s soulful songwriting, distinctive voice, and ability to fuse rock, folk and country have made him a household name and inspired generations of musicians. Celebrating Neil Young: From Harvest to Harvest Moon will be an unforgettable journey through some of his most iconic songs, spanning his solo work and his collaborations with Neil Young & Crazy Horse. This event will not only highlight the profound influence of Young’s music but also honour the enduring impact he’s had on the lives of musicians and fans alike.
The night’s set list promises a rich selection of Neil Young’s most beloved tracks, capturing the essence of his long and illustrious career. Fans will be treated to renditions of hits like Harvest Moon, Old Man, Rockin’ in the Free World, Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black), Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Down by the River, Cinnamon Girl, and many more. Each song will be reinterpreted with passion, authenticity and the timeless spirit that Young is known for. Shane Nicholson goes in to more detail about the show.
Are you looking forward to the next challenge, playing the songs of Neil Young?
Challenge is the operative word. All of us involved in this project know and love Neil, but when you try, and I’ve covered two songs before now and then, but when you actually try and get inside them in a show like this he’s a complex character. He’s a complex musical character to try and get inside of and when you really start digging into these songs and the many different versions of him that exist. I thought I knew Neil and his music, but doing this show and preparing for it has led me into a whole crazy world of stuff about him that I had no idea about. It still is a bit of a journey getting ready for this run of shows.
Are some songs harder to play or more challenging to play than what it would appear on face value?
A lot of them are. Not “hard to play” in a technical sense, but hard to capture the headspace and feeling Neil had. His guitar playing is pretty intense, and the interplay between his voice and guitar is unique. His band would follow him as he changed songs on the fly, leaving space and responding to him in the moment. The challenge is to embody that spirit. You can’t be Neil Young, no one can, but you can celebrate his music and infuse your own style while honouring what he does.
Is there a particular Neil Young album or a particular period of time that kind of resonates more with yourself?
The Harvest record was a big deal for me. It was the first record I discovered of his and so much so that I even wrote a song called Harvest on Vinyl, which was a single on my latest record a couple years ago. I wrote that when the fiftieth anniversary of that record came around because of the anniversary made me realise that it had been a soundtrack for my whole life. I found it in my parents’ record collection. I was about ten or twelve or something, and it became a big deal to me. It was the first time I listened to a record and realised that there was a songwriter writing these songs, but also playing them and singing them and steering the whole ship like a songwriter with something to say. It made me want to be creative. It was that record did that for me. So, obviously as I got older, I started playing guitar, I found more of the Crazy Horse stuff, which is a big part of what I’m doing in this show, um, quite a few Crazy Horse songs. The initial introduction to Neil for me was Harvest. So I’ll always have a soft spot for that record.
How did the opportunity to be a part of this project come up? Is it something that you’ve known both Richie and Jeff for quite a while and is this something that you’ve spoken about?
Not at all! It’s one of those music industry things, people who know people and then these guys have worked together before on other shows, and a lot of the people in the band or know the promoter, that kind of thing, they’ve done these kind of shows before. But when the idea came up to do a Neil Young one, they reached out to me. I guess I’ve made it so known that I’m a Neil fan over the years that my name must have popped up in some kind of meeting, so they reached out. I obviously know of the guys, but we’ve never even all met and sat together in a room. Not yet, anyway, but it feels a bit like the mid to late nineties alumni., you know, I was touring with Pretty Violet Stain around the same time Tumbleweed. I’m sure we shared a few bills with Tumbleweed back in the day. I don’t know if I’ve met Rich or not. It was around the same time I became aware of Tea Party. It’s going to be, it’s gonna be fun. It sort of fell into my lap like a gift from God. I feel very lucky to be a part of it. It’s going to be great fun.
So how did picking the songs work, do they sort of gravitate naturally to particular people, or do you say I’ve got dips on that?
Yeah, that’s what you do. Everyone sends in their wish list what they want to sing, and then it becomes a difficult job for the musical director, who’s Paul McDonald’s, who is doing a great job of trying to juggle everyone’s wants and wishes. Then obviously somebody’s got to make a master list of songs and then come up with who’s going to do what and that kind of thing. It becomes a bit of a juggling act, I think, for them. I’m happy to play anything that Neil wrote pretty much, so happy to sing anything. I’m just glad to be a part of it and I’ve got a list of songs that I get to do that I have loved all my life. It’s really exciting to be going on the road playing songs that you’ve just loved for so long that instead of my old boring songs like once again.
How do you rehearse this stuff? Is it in the moment, individual practice and then it comes together?
Exactly. The first show’s is in Brisbane because our first rehearsal will be in Brisbane before the first show. I think the band get in a bit earlier and they rehearse. Then we all come in the day before the show and do our first run through with the band. Some of the songs that I’m doing that aren’t rehearsed and there has to be a certain element of it that’s left to chance because that’s sort of part of the magic of what he does is that there’s so much left to chance and there’s so much spontaneity in it. I think it’d be a danger of over rehearsing it and turning it into a polished show that just wouldn’t be Neil Young, you know? So, I think it’s balancing that a little bit, walking that line.
Does that also create a little bit of pressure and anxiety a little bit, that it literally comes together the first night that you actually do play?
No, well not for me. I’m a big believer in not rehearsing too much. I certainly never rehearse with my live band when I’m going on tour. We’ve played together a long time though, so I guess we have that history together. But I’m a big believer in walking on stage with just knowing that there’s a potential for chaos, for the train going off the rails. I think that keeps it fun for everybody on both sides of the microphones. I actually thrive a little bit on that nervous energy about not being exactly sure what’s going to happen.
Having such a wealth of material to draw on narrowing down the show set list must be a really difficult decision for somebody to make?
Absolutely, Paul has done an incredible job. It’s a really great collection of songs. It’s what I would consider the greatest hits kind of set and everything that I would want to hear if I went to the show. So it, I think he’s done an amazing job and obviously you can never get them all in there, but it’s sort of songs that couldn’t not be in there. I think it’s going be pretty special and it’s a great band and everyone involved is really pro. I just think the whole thing’s going to be fun and the spirit of it will be a celebration of the music and it’s such a great thing to be a part of when like-minded people get to celebrate music that they’ve all been inspired by together. I’ve never been part of a tribute show or any kind of celebration show for an artist before. I’ve never done that. It’s never really interested me until this one it’s because it’s new and that’s why I just couldn’t say no.
What’s next beyond this tour for yourself? Is there new music or your own touring side of things to come?
Yes, I’ll be back the merry-go-round again. I’m halfway through a new record and I’ve got a few festival spots this year to play, but most of this year’s taken up with being in the studio making this new record. So yeah, next year hopefully there will be a new record which will be out and I’ll be back on the road once again. You can’t keep me away from it, it’s all I’ve ever known.
Interview By Rob Lyon
Catch ‘Celebrating Neil Young From Harvest To Harvest Moon’ on the following dates. Tickets from Metropolis Touring…
