Annual Bridge School benefit concert takes hiatus as host Neil Young bows out
After 30 years, the annual Bridge School benefit concert in Northern California is taking a hiatus. Its long-term future is uncertain, apparently a casualty of the 2014 divorce between the concert’s principal figures, musician-philanthropists Neil and Pegi Young.
The pair had worked together annually on the event that they started in 1986 to help fund the Hillsborough, Calif., institution that serves severely disabled students. Their son, Ben, is among many Bridge School alumni.
“Although I will continue in fundraising efforts, for personal reasons beginning this year I will no longer be hosting The Bridge School Concert,” Neil Young wrote in a statement posted on the Bridge School website, without elaborating on the reason for his decision.
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“I wish everyone the best as the school heads into the future,” Neil Young wrote. “My heart is with each and every child we have had the honor to serve and those we will continue to serve, and your parents, siblings, and extended families. Thanks to you all for the honor of serving such a great mission.”
Pegi Young posted a separate statement, also on the school’s site, stating only that no benefit will be held in 2017, and adding, “because our mission is of such great importance to so many, we proceed onward with optimism into the future. Stay tuned for updates as we begin to shape what the next steps will be in reaching our endowment goals.”
Over the years the shows have attracted performers representing a broad swath of pop music s from different generations, typically including Young and cohorts such as Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and David Crosby as well as David Bowie, Simon & Garfunkel, Bruce Springsteen, the Who, Willie Nelson, Pearl Jam, Tom Petty, Don Henley, Patti Smith, Sonic Youth, Elvis Costello, Thom Yorke, Jimmy Buffet, Emmylou Harris, Elton John, Leon Russell, Lucinda Williams, Metallica, Fleet Foxes, No Doubt, Sheryl Crow, Billy Idol and Adam Sandler.
Neither statement from the Youngs referenced their split.
“I love the students most of all because the light in their eyes tells me we have been doing the right thing for the last 30 years,” Neil Young wrote. “We have earned millions of dollars and the school is stable financially, able to go forward although we still need an endowment and would welcome one.”
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