Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts at Heaton Park

Neil Young is opening his 2026 UK and European tour in Manchester, stepping into Heaton Park on 19 June with his newest band, The Chrome Hearts.

Talkin To The Trees – his 46th studio album and the Chrome Hearts’ debut – arrived in summer 2025, part of a fresh burst of creativity that’s seen Young release new films, dive into the archives and head back out on the road. It finds the veteran rocker both sharp-edged and tender, with protest songs rubbing shoulders with domestic ditties.

‘Let’s Roll Again’ lifts its melody from Woody Guthrie’s ‘This Land is Your Land’ to aim straight at the American oligarch class (“If yer a fascist, then get a Tesla”). ‘Big Change’ skewers a country drifting increasingly off-course, offering the ultimatum: Run or fight. Set against those flashes of political anger are warmer pieces rooted in home life and the small rituals that keep the world at bay. ‘First Fire of Winter’, an acoustic shuffle with harmonica and brushed drums, might be his loveliest song in years.

The Chrome Hearts was formed after Young’s trusty Crazy Horse finally grew too unsteady for the road. But the band themselves are hardly unknown quantities. Micah Nelson, Corey McCormick and Anthony LoGerfo backed Young across The Monsanto Years and The Visitor, while Spooner Oldham links this lineup to the long arc of Stray Gators and Harvest Moon. It’s enough of a change to reinvigorate Young’s writing as he works through family knots, domestic peace and political barbs – all delivered with that iconic voice, still in surprisingly good shape at the top of his eight decade.

Young hasn’t played Manchester in a long while, and starting the tour here gives it added occasion. No doubt the new record will take centre stage, but if 2025’s setlist are anything to go by, longtime fans will hear plenty of older gems too, from his legendary 70’s albums to 1992’s lauded Harvest Moon.

If, like us, you’ve never managed to catch him live before, here’s your chance.