End of line may have come for big benefit show
Neil Young’s annual Bridge School Benefit Concert appears to have reached the end of the road.
After 30 years of hosting the all-star acoustic event, traditionally at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View over the last weekend of October, Young and his ex-wife Pegi announced on Wednesday that this year’s event was canceled with no plans to bring it back in the future.
The former couple posted separate messages
on the Bridge School’s official site explaining their mutual decision.
“Although I will continue in fundraising efforts, for personal reasons beginning this year I will no longer be hosting the Bridge School concert,” Neil Young wrote. “I wish everyone the best as the school heads into the future. My heart is with each and every child we have had the honor to serve and those we will continue to serve, and your parents, siblings, and extended families.”
Since 1986, Neil Young has hosted the highprofile acoustic shows for the benefit of the school he founded with Pegi Young to help children with severe speech and physical impairments; including their now adult son Ben, who is quadriplegic with cerebral palsy.
Over the years, the marathon shows have offered Bay Area music fans one-of-a-kind performances by rock royalty such as Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Brian Wilson, Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Metallica, Elvis Costello, Dixie Chicks and Beck.
McCartney crooned “The Very Thought of You” alongside Tony Bennett in 2004; Green Day performed stripped down versions of its punk-pop hits such as “Geek Stink Breath” and “Longview” in 1999; and the concert hosted a rare reunion of Young’s 1960s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Buffalo Springfield, performing together onstage for the first time in 43 years, in 2010.
Sitting on stools with music stands in front of them, Metallica made the most of its appearance at the benefit in 2007, working its way through unplugged covers of songs by Dire Straits, Bob Seger and Garbage.
The platinum-selling hard rock band returned last year, joining another stellar lineup that included Roger Waters, Willie Nelson, Norah Jones, My Morning Jacket, Cage the Elephant, Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds.
Before his band’s set, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich conducted a oneon-one interview in Shoreline’s production offices.
“It’s really about the students and the school,” he said. “I love that they’re onstage sharing this experience with us. It’s humbling and lifereaffirming and a little intimidating.”
The children always got the best seats in the house at the concert — circling the back of the stage behind the performers, who often sang directly to them.
Several compilation recordings from the Bridge School concerts were released over the years, as the concerts developed their own community of followers, who would buy blocks of seats to go with friends, compare previous lineups and cheer the video reel that featured famous faces from past shows.
The concert’s inaugural lineup in 1986 featured Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Nils Lofgren, Don Henley, Tom Petty, Robin Williams and Springsteen.
“We want to express our sincere and profound thanks to all of you for your love and support, demonstrated by way of your attendance at 30 years of Bridge School Benefit Concerts,” Pegi Young wrote in her message.
In a 2014 interview with The Chronicle, she had hinted that the benefit shows would soon come to an end.
“We know we can’t do this forever,” she said. “We are mere mortals. We really need to look at ways the school can continue to go on after the concerts.”