A rock 'n' roll reunion took place on Wednesday at the Jones Beach Theater in New York.
Ritchie Blackmore joined Deep Purple on stage. The event marked the first time in 33 years the legendary guitarist played with the band he co-founded.
Blackmore posted on Instagram he would be on stage to play:
“I actually called up – I didn’t call him up, I sent my A.I. pigeon to [Deep Purple frontman] Ian Gillan in Portugal, where he lives at the moment,” Blackmore said per Rolling Stone. “And I said, ‘How would you feel about if I got up just for an encore? Just one of the songs. I don’t want to intrude.’ He seemed to love the idea, put it to the band, got a thumbs up, and it looks like we might be doing that.”
“I hope I can compete with the [current Deep
Purple] guitar player [Simon McBride],” Blackmore added. “Because I can see that he has very big amplifiers behind him … He’s a very good guitar player – as was, and is, [former Deep Purple guitarist] Steve Morse, a great guitar player.”
Blackmore and Deep Purple played their iconic "Smoke on the Water."
RITCHIE BLACKMORE PLAYING WITH DEEP PURPLE LAST NIGHT AFTER 33 YEARS!! pic.twitter.com/DzwqK0d86r
— 🎸 Rock History 🎸 (@historyrock_) August 13, 2026
This article originally appeared on The List Wire: Watch: Ritchie Blackmore plays with Deep Purple for first time in 33 years
