Neil Young to Rock Gulf Coast

Neil Young has announced that the third U.S. leg of his Twisted Road solo tour will concentrate on areas of the country affected by the BP oil spill. The only date currently on the schedule is a September 23rd show at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, but concerts on August 24th, October 23rd, November 21st and December 21st are reserved on his official site. "Other dates will be announced that are surrounding this show in Florida and on the Gulf Coast," Young posted. "I am looking forward to playing Florida and the Gulf Coast." A three-week tour of the Western United States and Canada begins July 11th at the Fox Theater in Oakland.

As Rolling Stone reported from Young's show at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium earlier this month, Young has been road-testing new material from his upcoming disc that's being produced by Daniel Lanois on this half-electric, half-acoustic tour. One of the new tracks, "Peaceful Valley," is a lament about man's destruction of the American frontier, from the time the pioneers slaughtered herds of buffalo to the present day, when global warming causes "ancient rivers to boil."

Young's focus on the Gulf Coast helps explain a Facebook message he posted last week — his first-ever note to fans published on the social network. "i have been thinking about adding vampire blues to my show," he wrote, "but i would rather do it with a band." The lyrics to the 1974 song take on a new significance in light of the oil spill: "I'm a vampire, baby, suckin' blood from the earth/Well, I'm a vampire, babe, sell you 20 barrels worth." Young has long been invested in energy issues and the environment. In 2009 he released Fork in the Road, an album loosely about his LincVolt hybrid car project.

More on the BP spill:

• The Spill, The Scandal and The President

• BP's Next Disaster

• Rockers Race to Aid Victims of Gulf Oil Spill

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