PORT ANGELES — After Jon Bon Jovi said no, will Neil Young say yes?
Olympic National Park has extended an invitation to Young to perform in Port Angeles during the Sept. 17 celebration that will mark the beginning of the teardown of the Glines Canyon and Elwha dams, park Superintendent Karen Gustin said last week.
“We did invite Neil Young,” Gustin said.
“We have not heard back one way or the other.”
Young, who lives in the California redwoods, has produced 34 studio albums and co-founded the band Buffalo Springfield in 1966, later joining Crosby, Stills and Nash.
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in Canada, Young has been inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, first as a solo artist, then as a member of Buffalo Springfield.
A guitarist, singer and songwriter, he has been producing solo albums for decades. His latest album, “Le Noise,” was released in 2010.
Bon Jovi declined the park’s invitation to give a concert to highlight the celebration.
Does the park have any other musical artists in mind?
“Everything else is really too fluid to talk about right now,” Gustin said.
“I’m very confident we will have some kind of musical performance that evening.”
President Barack Obama also has been invited but has not yet responded, Gustin said.
“No one at Olympic National Park has been contacted by the Secret Service or that office,” she said.
Those who have confirmed their attendance are U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair — a major supporter of the dams removal project who represents the 6th Congressional District, which includes the North Olympic Peninsula — U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Bothell, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis, Gustin said.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladaily
news.com.
