Canadian musicians celebrate Neil Young birthday with NY80 in Toronto

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Neil Young becoming an “old man” on his 80th birthday did not go smoothly.

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An all-Canadian lineup of musicians will pay tribute to Canada's favorite folk-rock singer-songwriter Wednesday night at Massey Hall in an 8-0 win.

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Jim Cuddy, 69, of Toronto Blue Rodeo fame, is thrilled to honor Young at the event – Young was invited but is not expected to perform – especially since the only time Cuddy shared the stage with the Godfather of Grunge was at the 2005 festival. Live 8 A benefit concert in Barrie during a group version of Keep On Rockin' in the Free World that went horribly wrong.

“It was a complete mess,” Cuddy tells the Moncton, N.Y., Sun with a laugh.

“Everyone got it wrong and there was a moment where it got a little awkward. Neil said, “That's cool.” And it was cool when chaos reigned. There were certain people who went to a different part of the song. They were all famous. It was like, “Oh, my God.” Does everyone know that half of us don’t play the same song?”

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Cuddy wouldn't reveal which Young song he'll be performing Wednesday night at NY80: A Celebration of Neil Young and His Music, other than to say, “I think my choice is very relevant to the times.”

He joins a lineup that includes other respected Canadians such as Sarah Harmer, Kathleen Edwards, Dallas Green and Serena Ryder.

Young is still young on stage

The Blue Rodeo legend admitted that the thought of Young, born in Toronto on November 12, 1945, becoming an octogenarian is unthinkable, given that he still performs as loud, long and hard as he has in the past.

“He seems like a young man to me,” said Cuddy, who will return to Massey Hall Jan. 23-24 with Blue Rodeo for the band's 40th anniversary shows.

“This last concert I saw the summer before (this) was like any full Neil Young concert. It was amazing, amazing. To me, he's one of those guys, like (Paul) McCartney and Paul Simon, I just feel such a huge sense of gratitude for what they gave me, gave us.”

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Cuddy will be joined by guitarist Luke Doucet for the song, and all performers will be accompanied by an 11-piece house band, including Blue Rodeo's Glenn Milcham and Sheepdogs' Shamus Curry.

A tribute to a decade in the making

NY80 organizer Dale Gago said the idea for the Neil Young birthday show came about a decade ago.

Young is his favorite artist, and Gago said he was first blown away at the 1993 MTV Awards when he performed an “explosive, ferocious” version of Keep On Rockin' in the Free World with Pearl Jam.

“It all started because I wanted to do this for Neil's 70th birthday – so it's something I've been thinking about for a long, long time,” said Gago, whose day job is with the investment firm Fengate.

“And then when Neil turned 75, I tried to get it going again and the industry was interested and they thought it was a great idea, but it didn't quite work. So I said, 'Okay, I've got five years to maybe do something for Neil's 80th birthday.'

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Aaron Goldstein (Kathleen Edwards, City and Color, etc.) will serve as musical director and house band member, along with producer Spencer Shewan of the Mariposa Folk Festival and Riverfest Elora, who is producing the event.

Show donated funds

“Most of the people we contacted were on board from the first call,” Gago said, adding that the show sold out within an hour, with all proceeds going to MusiCares.

“And the other cool thing is that all the musicians chose the songs they wanted to play, and there wasn't much overlap. I think people are going to be excited about the set list.”

As for Young himself, Gago alerted him to what NY80 was going on on her Archives website and actually received a response.

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“He answered me: “Thank you. Be healthy.” So it was great to see him acknowledge that this was happening. It's unlikely he came all the way from California for this, because I think he's there now.

“I have a couple of seats reserved for him. I've been fantasizing about walking outside and seeing his tour bus pull up.”

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