Neil Young meets fans, signs album at SLO County record store. ‘He still has the magic’

Before sunrise, Santa Maria resident Liam Kitchen hunkered down on Traffic Way with hundreds of other music fans — all waiting to meet folk rock icon Neil Young.

“Neil Young has such a compassionate, big heart, and it really reflects in his music and how he treats his fans,” Kitchen said. “He just cares about people.”

On Friday afternoon, Young signed copies of his latest album at Traffic Records in Atascadero.

A handful of fans showed up on Thursday night to get a spot in line for a chance to meet the musician. By Friday at noon, the line stretched down the length of Traffic Way.

While amber sycamore leaves floated onto the sidewalk, Kitchen strummed Young songs on his guitar. His all-time favorite song by Young is “Rockin’ in the Free World,” he said.

“It’s some very serious lyrics about the reality of the world,” Kitchen said. “It’s about homeless people and poverty, burning fuel, needing a place to sleep. Just really intense stuff that people deal with all the time.”

Folk rock singer signs albums at Atascadero record store

On Friday at noon, Young signed copies of his 45th album, “Before and After,” at Traffic Records, located at 5850 Traffic Way in Atascadero.

The record store sold about 300 CDs, records and Blue-ray discs of the album for Young to autograph.

Less than a week ago, Young called Traffic Records to ask if they would host the event, according to owner Manuel Barba.

“This is his only public appearance for the release of his album that comes out today,” Barba said. “It’s a bitchin’ story, and I can’t believe my store is at the center of it.”

Young stopped by Traffic Records with his son, his wife Daryl Hannah and his two dogs in 2021 the night before Thanksgiving, Barba said.

“I’ll never forget it,” Barba said. “They were just so gracious and so sweet, and I gave them a couple shirts. No selfies, no autographs, just was like, ‘Wow, it’s such an honor to have you here.’”

Barba also works at Vino Robles Amphitheater, and said hello to Young at his most recent performance there.

“He remembered our story, he remembered this experience enough to contact us,” Barba said. “It’s all very organic, which is probably why it feels right.”

The 45-minute record is an acoustic blend of Young’s original songs selected from different albums across his career, according to Young’s website.

Barba said the album mirrors Young’s most recent tour.

“The record itself is beautiful,” Barba said. “Forty-five albums later he still has the magic.”

This isn’t Young’s first time visiting San Luis Obispo County.

Young and Hannah were reportedly married in Atascadero on Aug. 24, 2018, after a wedding in Washington earlier that year.

Even before that, the pair were known to frequent the area, after being spotted at the 76 gas station on Morro Road in April that year.

“He’s been coming here since before you and I were born,” Barba said. “I think part of Neil coming to this town, when he’s here with Daryl Hannah, they just want to feel like normal people and walk around in the morning and have coffee. So that’s what they do.”

Fans camp out in Atascadero to meet Neil Young

Tony Fornaro drove up to Atascadero from Los Angeles on Thursday, arriving at about midnight to wait on the sidewalk for the album signing.

“This is my first night waiting overnight for anybody. Only for Neil I would do this,” Fornaro said with a chuckle. “It was a little tough, but I made it through.”

Fornaro was one of a handful of fans who stayed the night on Traffic Way to hold a place in line for the signing. Sharpie Girl, a music enthusiast from California, was the first in line at 2 p.m. on Thursday. She owns about 500 signed albums, she said.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time,” she said. “One time I stood in line for four days for Bruce Springsteen tickets in Denver. The people were bringing couches, pizzas were being delivered, doughnuts would show up, people had card games going — it was a party.”

She saw a similar type of camaraderie on Traffic Way on Friday night — as everyone shared snacks and stories on the sidewalk in the 35-degree weather.

Listening to Young’s new album for the first time was an emotional experience, she said.

“I had to go in my car to listen to the last part of it because I was crying so much,” she said. “He reworked some of the songs that were so familiar to me — they just came out fresh.”

From a 9-year-old to folks as old as 80, multiple generations of people waited in line to meet Young.

Fornaro said he thinks all generations enjoy Young’s music because its emotionally honest.

“He’s just real passionate and you can feel how real the music is. He’s always stripped down and raw, and you can feel it — it’s in his heart,” Fornaro said. “There’s something that resonates with his music that a lot of artists don’t have.”

Jericho, a 9-year-old from Monterey, played Young songs on guitar while waiting in line for an autograph. His favorite Young songs include “Mr. Soul” and “Heart of Gold.”

“I just enjoy his style,” Jericho said. “Everything about him is so great.”

Longtime Atascadero resident Lee Sandoval raised his kids on Young’s music, he said. He even taught his youngest son to read using Young’s song lyrics.

“He’s pretty jealous right now because he’s stuck in Los Angeles and we’re here,” Sandoval said with a smile. “We sent him pictures today to rub it in.”

Young’s music supported Sandoval through a divorce and the passing of his brother, he said.

“It’s down home,” Sandoval said. “You feel like you’ve lived through his lyrics.”

San Luis Obispo County resident Caroline Kraetzer and her friends camped out on Traffic Way at 5:30 a.m. on Friday. Her parents introduced her to Young’s music, she said, and her mom would play her “Till the Morning Comes” when she couldn’t sleep as a child.

Etta McCabe listened to Young with her dad growing up. Now, she has a tattoo inspired by the musician, which says “Unknown Legend.”

“I was raised on Neil Young and Bob Dylan,” McCabe said. “He’s a very connective force between me and my dad.”

McCabe also noted that Young is “punk as hell” for removing his music from Spotify in 2022 to protest its airing of Joe Rogan’s podcast, which spread misinformation about COVID-19.

San Luis Obispo County resident Touloula Ritter also listened to Young with her dad, but started to appreciate his music and respect for the Earth more as she grew up.

“As I got older, I realized that he was one of those great balladeers that really kept their sound and what they believed in in their music,” Ritter said. “He’s kinda held that similar outlook throughout all the decades, and it’s just so steadfast and true.”