Neil Young Says He Lost a Touring Bandmate to Bruce Springsteen

Neil Young isn’t angry about it, but he’s telling it like it is.

The “Harvest Moon” singer told uber-producer, Rick Rubin, in a recent interview that he lost a bandmate—Nils Lofgren—to the upcoming Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band tour.

The 77-year-old Young is prepping for a likely upcoming tour, himself, but he will likely be without Lofgren, who will instead be heading out on the road with The Boss.

Lofgren, obviously has loyalty to Young, as he followed in the Americana songwriter’s footsteps in removing his music from Spotify earlier this year. Young originally removed his music after complaining about COVID misinformation and podcast host, Joe Rogan on the streaming service.

Young told Rubin that he’s curious how the two upcoming tours might work out, his and Springsteen’s, noting Lofgren will likely not make Young’s.

“I would be [surprised] too. I would be,” he told Rubin. “But things move along and move on, and Nils is part of the E Street Band. So, Bruce is probably going on a mega tour. So, Nils is gone, and Nils is like, ‘What? I can’t be in two places at once.’ because he was, you know, really into this.”

Added Young, “I mean, we were all really into it. So, I actually feel for Nils a little bit because I know he wants to be here with us. But you know, he’s with Bruce, and Bruce’s been there for him for years and years, and that’s an old, old thing now.”

Young told Rubin that Lofgren and Young had collaborated prior to Bruce and Lofgren. “Nils is on [the 1970 album] After the Gold Rush. He plays piano on After the Gold Rush,” said Young.

In other touring news, the legendary musician talked about touring only if it’s environmentally friendly and not connected to factory farms.

Check out the interview with Rubin and Young below.

Photo by Paul Bergen/Redferns