Photos: Neil Young & the Chrome Hearts Bring the Love Earth Tour to Fiddler’s Green

Neil Young’s Love Earth Tour rolled through Denver on September 1 with a packed Labor Day crowd at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre. At 79 years old, Young debuted new material with his newest band, the Chrome Hearts, and showed he’s still the best protest songwriter in the business.

Fans were out in full force for the national holiday eagerly awaiting the legendary singer-songwriter’s Denver debut with his newest band. Neil Young formed the Chrome Hearts from members of Lukas Nelson’s former band, Promise of the Real, featuring Willie Nelson’s son Micah Nelson (aka Particle Kid) on guitar, Corey McCormick on bass, Anthony Logerfo on drums, as well as legendary Muscle Shoals organist Spooner Oldham.

The band kicked things off with a stripped-down version of “Ambulance Blues” featuring Young on acoustic guitar before moving to his classic black Gibson for a rocking “Cowgirl in the Sand.” It was a night full of classics as the band continued with two of Young’s protest songs, “Southern Man” and “Ohio,” before going into its only new material of the night. “Big Crime” is Neil Young’s most recent effort, a scathing direct shot at the Trump administration that doesn’t mention the president’s name but also doesn’t mince words with such lyrics as, “No more money to the fascists / The billionaire fascists / Time to blackout the system / No more great again.”

The timeless hits continued with “Harvest Moon” and “Mr. Soul,” a cover from Young’s time with Buffalo Springfield, before closing with fan favorites “Old Man” and “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black).” Set up in the North Plaza of Fiddler’s were tents and booths that highlighted several local and national charities championed by Young as part of his work as a founding member of Farm Aid. Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir opened the show for support.

See photos from the show below:

Find more concerts on our Denver concert calendar.