It was the first time Blackmore shared a stage with the band since 1993
Yesterday, legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore revealed plans to reunite with Deep Purple on stage for the first time in 33 years. He said he would be making a special guest appearance during the band’s headlining concert at Northwell at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York, on Wednesday, August 12. The 81-year-old guitarist, who co-founded Deep Purple and last performed with the group in 1993, unexpectedly revealed the plans during an Instagram Live broadcast with his wife and Blackmore’s Night bandmate Candice Night on August 11. Blackmore jokingly presented the appearance as a secret before revealing that he would probably come onstage during Deep Purple’s encore for a single song. The reunion represents a remarkable moment in the band’s history, bringing Blackmore back together with a group whose classic sound he helped define through iconic riffs and recordings including “Smoke on the Water,” “Highway Star” and numerous other hard-rock standards.
Well, the dream for fans in attendance – and so many more around the world – came true tonight. Blackmore took the stage with Deep Purple during their encore, performing their classic hit “Smoke on the Water.” The song has become one of the most recognizable and iconic songs in music history. Tonight, fans got to see it live with Blackmore back in the lineup for the first time in over three decades.
Watch the full video below.
Blackmore said previously, “You know, there was 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 going to be kept a secret. And will it? I suppose so.
I actually called up… I didn’t call him up. I sent my AI pigeon to Ian Gillan in Portugal where he lives at the moment. And I said, “How would you feel about if I got up just for an encore, you know, just one of the songs? Don’t want to intrude.” And I said, “No pressure, just kind of old times sake, you know. I’m 81 now.” And he seemed to love the the idea, put it to the band, got a thumbs up, and it looks like we might be doing that.
I have my roadie there kind of now, you know, setting up my amplifier, but I’ll be using a small amplifier, but it’s very loud. It’s what I use when I record. I hope I can compete with the guitar player because I can see that he has very big amplifiers behind him. So, it probably just be the one number as it’s been a while. I changed the strings on my guitar, which I haven’t done in over 25 years. So, I did that.
It would be good to see the old guys again, you know. I think we’re all beyond, you know, crutches and wheelchairs and things. Although I think the rest of them are okay, but it’s kind of frightening. I haven’t played rock in 25 years.”
According to Blackmore, the reunion was largely his own idea. He contacted longtime Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan — joking that he had sent his “A.I. pigeon” to Gillan in Portugal — and floated the possibility of joining the band for one encore number purely for old times’ sake. Blackmore stressed that he did not want to intrude on the current lineup and placed no pressure on Gillan or the other musicians to accept. Gillan apparently responded enthusiastically, presented the proposal to the rest of Deep Purple, and Blackmore received a unanimous thumbs-up. Blackmore said the plan was for only one song, explaining that “it’s been a while.” The specific number was not disclosed, although Candice Night ruled out “Highway Star” because Deep Purple planned to open its regular set with the song.
Blackmore has already taken surprisingly serious steps to prepare for the brief return. During the livestream, he said his roadie was at Jones Beach preparing his equipment and conducting a soundcheck. Rather than using a massive traditional rock rig, Blackmore plans to play through the relatively small but extremely loud amplifier he normally uses while recording. He joked about whether he would be able to compete with current Deep Purple guitarist Simon McBride’s much larger amplifiers and said he hoped the front-of-house engineer would turn him up sufficiently. Perhaps the most amusing detail concerned his famous Fender Stratocaster: “I changed my strings on my Strat, which I haven’t done in over 25 years.” Blackmore also praised McBride as a “very good guitar player” and spoke highly of McBride’s predecessor Steve Morse as well, setting the stage for the unusual sight of Blackmore sharing the stage with the guitarist currently occupying the position he made famous.
The appearance is particularly significant because Blackmore has spent most of the past three decades far removed from the hard-rock world that made him famous. After leaving Deep Purple in 1993, he increasingly shifted his attention toward the Renaissance and medieval-influenced acoustic music of Blackmore’s Night, the group he formed with Candice Night in the 1990s. Blackmore told viewers that after so many years concentrating on acoustic guitar, the instrument now feels more natural to him than electric guitar. He claimed during the livestream that he had not played rock music in 25 years, although both Blabbermouth and Guitar Player pointed out that this overlooks his revival of Rainbow beginning in 2016, when he returned to hard rock for a limited series of concerts after nearly two decades away from that style of music. Nevertheless, a Deep Purple appearance is another matter entirely: Blackmore has not shared a stage with his former bandmates since his turbulent departure during the group’s 1993 tour.
Blackmore also acknowledged that returning to the stage at 81 presents physical challenges. The guitarist continues to deal with several health problems, including severe gout, arthritis affecting his fingers and feet, previous heart issues and the aftermath of a debilitating vertigo attack in late 2025 that forced him to cancel performances. He also revealed that he has four herniated discs and recently received a steroid injection in his lumbar region to make it possible for him to stand and play his Stratocaster. Blackmore said he would have a stool available onstage if needed and thanked the doctors at Stony Brook University Hospital for treating him. With characteristic dark humor, he remarked, “I’ve got four herniated discs, if anybody wants them.” He also noted that aging inevitably brings physical ailments, mentioning Gillan’s eyesight problems and joking about his own tendency to find something to complain about.
Despite the physical concerns, Blackmore sounded both excited and slightly apprehensive about the reunion. He admitted that returning to the hard-rock environment after spending so much time playing acoustic music is somewhat intimidating, while also looking forward to seeing his former bandmates. “It’ll be good to see the old guys again,” he said, before joking that everyone might appear with crutches and wheelchairs. He ultimately decided to reveal the supposedly secret appearance ahead of time because he believed longtime fans would want the opportunity to witness such a rare event. Blackmore said he hoped his guitar would remain in tune and that he would be able to handle whatever song the musicians ultimately selected, reiterating that the plan was for just one number.
The significance of the moment stretches well beyond a one-song guest spot. Blackmore was one of the central architects of Deep Purple’s sound and, alongside Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice in the celebrated Mark II lineup, helped establish the template for hard rock and heavy metal during the early 1970s. After leaving Purple during the 1970s, he founded Rainbow, initially combining hard rock with classical and baroque influences before the band evolved toward a more commercial style. He eventually returned to Deep Purple in the 1980s before departing again in 1993, and relations between Blackmore and his former bandmates were often complicated in the decades that followed. His willingness to appear with the current incarnation — featuring Gillan, Glover, Paice, keyboardist Don Airey and guitarist Simon McBride — therefore gives the Jones Beach concert genuine historical significance. What is expected to last only a few minutes will nevertheless mark the first time in more than three decades that the guitarist responsible for some of Deep Purple’s most recognizable music has performed alongside the band that made him a rock legend.
[Photo Credit: Andy Hawkes/Deep Purple WebCrew]