Legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore revealed that he will perform with former band Deep Purple for the first time in 33 years.
The announcement came during an Instagram Live stream with his wife Candace Night on Tuesday, August 11th. Blackmore disclosed that he will join Deep Purple for the encore at their concert on Wednesday night, August 12th, at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York.
Blackmore co-founded Deep Purple in 1968, but hasn’t played with the band since exiting in 1933. During the Instagram Live stream, he said, “There is something we wanted to mention about tomorrow night… Well, it is a secret and I don’t want anybody to know, but I’m probably get up and do an encore with the band, Deep Purple. But you can’t tell anybody, and I know that this is gonna be kept a secret. And will it? I suppose so.”
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He clarified later in the stream that the encore would not be “Highway Star” with his legendary guitar solo, as the band intended to open the night with that tune.
Blackmore further added this would be his first time playing rock music of any kind in decades, save for a brief Rainbow reunion in 2016.
He continued, “So, that’s gonna be interesting. I have not played rock music in 25 years, actually. It’ll be good to see the old guys again. I think we’ll all be on crutches and wheelchairs and things, although I think the rest of them are okay. But, yes, it’s kind of frightening. I haven’t played rock in 25 years… I’ve been playing acoustic guitar for 25 years, and at first I was very uncomfortable playing it, but I got used to it, and now I’m used to playing the acoustic more so than the electric.”
Deep Purple are currently on a North American summer tour supporting their most recent album, SPLAT!, with support from Kansas. Tickets are available here.
Listen to the full Instagram Live stream below.