If you're an aging rock 'n' roll icon, how can you shed the derisive "dinosaur" label? Head to the nearest fossil-filled museum and completely own the title.
Neil Young—yes, that Neil Young—will present the first public playback of his upcoming album Earth during the May 6 installment of the Natural History Museum's First Fridays series.
To be clear, Young will be hosting a listening party and not necessarily picking up his axe for a performance—though my my, hey hey can we hope so. The legendary guitarist and singer will preview the recording ahead of its June 17 release. It's an uninterrupted 98-minute long album that features existing Young songs like "After the Gold Rush," "Vampire Blues" and "Love & Only Love" accompanied by the sounds of nature and wildlife—hence the listening party's setting in the NHM's Nature Gardens. The album preview marks a first-ever occurrence for both Young and the museum.
Tickets are only $18 to the always-popular First Fridays, and you can expect reservations for this installment to go particularly quick. A very limited number of tickets will be available at the door.
While the Buffalo Springfield and CSNY icon will certainly be the night's biggest draw, he's not the only reason to attend. KCRW DJ Aaron Byrd and JEDI kick off an evening of music that also includes Escondido, Korey Dane and Paul Bergmann. On the science side of things, you can attend "Velociraptor is the Thing with Feathers," a panel discussion about dinosaurs in film with USC/NHM researcher Dr. Michael Habib and assistant curator of the NHM Dinosaur Institute, Dr. Nate Smith.