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The super-cool, nice guy Ritchie

Guitar World has a short interview with Simon McBride on what the Blackmore’s guest appearance at the Deep Purple gig in Jones Beach looked like from his perspective: I got to stand on stage beside the guy who started this whole thing. Ritchie is a legend, a great player, and a great innovator. I think […]

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This wasn’t simply another guest appearance

Long Island Sounds empathically reviews the gig on August 12, 2026, at the Jones Beach Theater: There are some concerts you attend. There are others you experience. Deep Purple at Northwell at Jones Beach Theater was very much the latter. At 80 years old, vocalist Ian Gillan is no longer the singer who effortlessly unleashed […]

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Good night had by all

Guitar Player posts Blackmore’s reaction, both given directly to the publication, and collected from social media, in the aftermath of his guest appearance on stage with Deep Purple at the Jones Beach in Long Island on August 12, 2026. It was very moving because I went on very quickly and had to play immediately. I […]

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Rocktogenarians never give up

Here is something a bit different for THS. It’s an article by an actual journalist! Marcelo Soares is a Brazilian journalist and a huge fan of Deep Purple. Some of you probably know him from the comments here at THS and in various forums online. This article was written for a Brazilian magazine so some […]

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History is Made at Rare Show in Wantagh, NY

Deep Purple live at Jones Beach Theater (Wantagh, USA 2026-08-12) Blackmore Joins Purple for Epic Encore at Jones Beach Theater Reviewed by The Highway Star Reader “Albania” When my younger son greeted me in the morning by asking if I knew where we kept the several sets of glasses that are needed to watch solar […]

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And it finally happened

Just as anticipated, on August 12, 2026, Ritchie Blackmore joined Deep Purple on stage at the Jones Beach Theater for a guest performance of Smoke. As an engineering wisdom goes, with sufficient thrust pigs fly just fine. Here is the evidence.

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Blackmore to join Purple for NY show

In a completely black(!) live session on Instagram last night US EST, Ritchie Blackmore revealed the “secret” that he will be the guesting Deep Purple for the encore at Jones Beach Amphitheater in Wantagh, NY on August 12. There seem to be tickets left, so grab one if you haven’t already. Blabbermouth quotes Blackmore from […]

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He had all the moves

This is in borderline trainspotting category, but Guitar World shares an anecdote about Robert Fripp making a guest appearance on David Bowie’s 1980 album Scary Monsters: Fripp’s newfound role as a “focused rock player” very much came in handy at the sessions. “I remember I asked David, ‘Any suggestions?’, because there’s any number of ways […]

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Creativity and volatility in equal measure

Guitar World has a feature on every Deep Purple banjo player, from Ritchie Blackmore to Simon McBride. Deep Purple’s longevity is remarkable on a number of levels. Aside from a relatively brief split between 1976 and 1984, they’ve been a working band since 1968 – a striking achievement, attributable in part to their willingness to […]

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Vibrant Rainbow

Goldmine magazine promises an interview with Ritchie Blackmore done by Martin Popoff for their Summer 2026 issue (with Charley Crockett on the cover): Ritchie Blackmore explains how he combined his talent with vocalist Ronnie James Dio to produce a vibrant Rainbow. We have no further details at the moment. The issue can be purchased from […]

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