Bridge School Benefit founder Neil Young celebrated his non-profit’s 25th anniversary this weekend in San Francisco with artists Beck, Eddie Vedder, Arcade Fire and others.
The Bridge School was started in 1986 by Young and his wife Pegi to help educate children with severe physical and speech impairments.
Young kicked off the fundraiser’s all-acoustic set with “I Am a Child.”
Beck’s third Bridge School appearance saw him play tracks from his 2002 album Sea Change, including “Golden Age,” “Guess I’m Doing Fine” and “Lost Cause.” He told the audience it was the first time he performed those songs on stage in nearly a decade.
Vedder, who made his 10th appearance at the benefit, played a solo set. But he brought out special guests throughout, including Beck, for a cover of the Everly Brothers’ “Sleepless Nights.” Arcade Fire’s Regine Chassagne shared vocals with the Pearl Jam singer on “Tonight You Belong to Me.” Both tunes appeared on Vedder’s recent solo album Ukulele Songs.
Arcade Fire started its set with the song “Intervention,” and gave a nod to the Occupy movement by dedicating it to “all those people camped out in front of our hotel, hoping that in some way this country can change somehow.” The band also shared the stage with Young to perform the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song “Helpless.”
Young began his solo set around midnight and often sang directly to his son, Ben, who was onstage. He dedicated “Sugar Mountain” to the Bridge School kids, and also performed songs like “Comes a Time” and “Heart of Gold.”
For the encore, Young brought out most of the night’s featured artists, and together performed the Youngblood’s “Get Together.”
All of the money raised for the event will go directly to the Bridge School, which aids special needs children through “augmentative & alternative means of communication (AAC) and assistive technology (AT) applications and through the development, implementation and dissemination of innovative life-long educational strategies,” according to the school’s website.
