Neil Young has postponed his July 3 concert at Rexall Place, without explanation, according to the Edmonton Journal.
The 69-year-old singer issued a statement on Monday noting, “I am sad to say that I must postpone the July 3 Honour the Treaties concert at Edmonton’s Rexall Place in support of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations legal defence. The Honour The Treaties Tour will be rescheduled and new dates will be announced in the very near future.”
No further explanation was given by Young or his label, Warner Music.
Young has been a vocal supporter of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations’s fight against oilsands development in Alberta, and has staged similar benefit concerts across Canada, including in Calgary. Blue Rodeo was set to open for the veteran rocker.
Honour the Treaties is, according to their site, “an organization dedicated to amplifying the voices of Indigenous communities through art and advocacy. We do that by funding collaborations between Native artists and Native advocacy groups so that their messages can reach a wider audience.”
According to LiveNation, tickets purchased online and by telephone will be automatically refunded. Tickets purchased in-person t will be refunded at point of purchase.
Singer Neil Young speaks during a press conference for the Honour the Treaties tour in Toronto, Sunday January 12, 2014. Photograph by: Mark Blinch , THE CANADIAN PRESS
Neil Young announced he will perform a concert July 3 in Edmonton to benefit the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Legal Defense Fund.
Young will be joined at Rexall Place by Canadian band Blue Rodeo, according to Global News Canada.
Young has been a vocal supporter of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in its fight to stop oilsands development.
Last year, he held similar Honour the Treaties concerts in cities across Canada, including Calgary, the article stated.
“It’s the greediest, most destructive and disrespectful demonstration of something run amok that you can ever see,” Young said of the Alberta oilsands in January 2014. “There is no way to describe it. It’s truly a disaster.”
In 2013, Young came under fire for comparing Fort McMurray, Alberta to the Japanese city destroyed by an atomic bomb in 1945.
Chief Allan Adam welcomed news of another benefit concert by Young.
“With the support of Neil Young and fans we are creating more accountability from our governments for the safe guarding of our lands, rights and future generations in Alberta, Canada and beyond,” said Adam, in a release.
“Our people, our climate and our planet can no longer afford to be economic hostages in the race to industrialize the earth. We must act now for the future generations.”
Tickets for the Edmonton concert start at $45 and go on sale May 1.
A message from Neil, along with his address to the press before the Calgary show, specifically to the editor of the Calgary Herald. Jan. 19, 2014
Thanks to my friends in the First Nations.
Thanks to my crew, Thanks to all of the Canadians who supported our efforts to enable justice and truth for the First Nations living in Canada.
Our journey across the great expanse of Canada reveal…ed the beauty of the people and the land once again and brought back the old feelings of home.
To the leaders of Canada I say keep our word. Live up to the truth. Honour the treaties. To the foreign and domestic oil companies in our north, I say clean up your mess.
Stop complaining.
Talk to our First Nations and come to agreements to allow what you plan to do on their land, as it is represented in the treaties our forefathers reached with our First Nations.
Young added lyrics to the song, which originally appeared on his album Ragged Glory. “Respect Mother Earth and her healing ways,” he sings. “Don’t trade away our children’s days.” The Honour The Treaties concerts –held in Toronto, Regina, Winnipeg and Calgary — raised funds for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Legal Defense Fund. It also sparked debate among Canadians about the oilsands and some criticism of Young.
An insightful blog posting by Angelina Pratt – a beneficiary of Neil Young’s 2014 Canadian tour and member of the First Nation Athabasca Chipewyan.
She has mixed feelings about everything that happened with Neil and the tribe and publicity and treaties and the anti-oil message. She expresses herself in a way that brings new perspective.
She writes: “The title of the benefit concert series was ‘Honouring the Treaties,’ although the organizers ought to have titled it ‘Canada’s Hiroshima’ because our Treaty was not the main focus. There was no real conversation on the Treaty, certainly not in any meaningful way, because the emphasis was placed on what Neil was saying.”
“However, Neil didn’t seem to know enough about the Treaty to speak on this subject, so he talked about what he knew, and his message was overwhelmingly anti-oil and anti-industry. Even our Chief deferred to Neil. Like the large wooden Indian that occupied Neil’s stage, our Chief, who was on stage for all of the pre-concert press conferences was virtually silent. It appeared to those of us on the sideline that it continues to be acceptable to allow well intended non-natives speak for a Chief, even in the 21st century.”
“Neil pulled no punches at his first press conference at Massey Hall, in Toronto, Ontario, where he repeated his earlier analogy of Fort McMurray’s oil sands industry to that of Hiroshima. The intent was to be provocative and controversial, and it was that and more. “
“I am of very mixed feelings about the tour. On one hand, I am very proud that our Chief was able to gain the attention of and partner with a high profile celebrity to draw attention to our plight and to raise much-needed funds for litigation. In my immediate family, Neil Young has always been held in high esteem for his musicianship and songwriting. Last Christmas, long before Neil became involved with our First Nation, I bought Hubby a very expensive set of Blu-ray discs that are the first instalment of Neil’s Archives as well as Neil’s book Waging Heavy Peace.”
“On the other hand, I also feel cheated and duped. I feel that the response to Neil’s celebrity and his flamboyant rhetoric overrode our First Nation’s interests and the balanced message our Chief started out expressing. Clearly, the entire tour was on his terms, or at least the media coverage of the tour gave that strong impression. One of the organizers admitted as much, that it was Neil who decided who was on stage with them when an appeal was made to include Dene elders at the press conference. When I recommended that the message be clarified and moved to a more balanced one, away from the virulent anti-oil and anti-industry position, I was told that Neil’s publicists and the inner group didn’t want to appear they were backing down. At that point, it became clear that the tour ostensibly about Treaties, was really about anti-oil at all costs.”
The blogger states her intent is to stay true to her core being.
“What this means to me is to stand in integrity,” she said.
“>\"Friends. The shadow hat icon will always be me personally writing to you from now on. No one else will use it.\"
” by -- Neil Young
Neil Young on Tour
Sugar Mountain setlists
Tom Hambleton provides BNB with setlists, thankfully. His website is the most comprehensive searchable archives on the Internets about anything Neil Young related setlists. Goto Sugar Mountain.
No further explanation was given by Young or his label, Warner Music.
Thanks to my friends in the First Nations.
memphish on 
Albert Stromann on 
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Baz on 
