Ritchie Blackmore is set to reunite with Deep Purple onstage for the first time since 1993, joining his former bandmates for a planned encore at their concert at Northwell at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York, on Wednesday 12 August, 2026. The 81-year-old guitarist revealed the surprise appearance during an Instagram Live with his wife, Candice Night, the night before the show.
Blackmore’s appearance will mark his first live performance with Deep Purple in 33 years, provided the planned cameo goes ahead as expected. The band’s official Jones Beach listing confirms the August 12 show, with Kansas appearing as special guests.
Ritchie Blackmore plans Deep Purple encore
Blackmore initially tried to keep the reunion under wraps, joking during the Instagram Live that the appearance was supposed to be a secret.
“There is 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 gonna be kept a secret. And will it? I suppose so.”
The guitarist said he had contacted Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan to ask whether he could join the band for one song, describing the request as being “for old times’ sake”.
Blackmore joked that he had not contacted Gillan in the conventional way, instead sending what he called his “AI pigeon” to the singer, who is based in Portugal.
“I actually called up… I didn’t call him up, I sent my AI pigeon to [Deep Purple singer] 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? Just one of the songs. I don’t want to intrude.’ And I said, ‘No pressure – just kind of [for] old times’ sake.’ I’m 81 now. So he seemed to love the idea, put it to the band, got a thumbs up, and it looks like we might be doing that.”
According to Blackmore, Gillan put the idea to the rest of Deep Purple and received approval for the appearance.
Blackmore prepares his Stratocaster for Deep Purple reunion
Blackmore has already made preparations for his return to the stage with Deep Purple. He revealed that a small but loud amplifier had been set up for him and that he had changed the strings on his Stratocaster for the first time in 25 years.
“I have not played rock music in 25 years… it’ll be good to see the old guys again.”
The guitarist also acknowledged that he would be sharing the stage with Deep Purple’s current guitarist Simon McBride, who has considerably larger amplification onstage. Blackmore suggested that the planned performance would remain limited to a single song.
One obvious Deep Purple classic is already ruled out. The band opens its current show with “Highway Star”, meaning Blackmore’s planned encore appearance would have to feature another song.
Blackmore’s health and return to rock
The planned reunion comes after a difficult period for Blackmore. Health problems forced him to cancel Blackmore’s Night performances in 2025, with the guitarist later discussing issues including a serious vertigo attack.
Blackmore has also spoken about other health issues, including gout and arthritis affecting his fingers and feet, while referring to previous heart problems.
Despite those challenges, he said he was keen to see his former Deep Purple bandmates again and return briefly to the kind of rock performance that defined his career.
Why Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple
Blackmore first left Deep Purple in 1975, after tensions over the band’s musical direction. He went on to form Rainbow before returning to Deep Purple in 1984 for the Perfect Strangers reunion.
His second spell with the band lasted until 1993, when he quit during the tour supporting The Battle Rages On…. His final Deep Purple performance came in November 1993. Joe Satriani subsequently stepped in to complete the tour, before Steve Morse became the band’s long-term guitarist.
Blackmore later described his frustration with the way decisions were made within Deep Purple.
“When I left Deep Purple, I just felt that the band wasn’t pulling [its weight] as a musical venture. It became a committee. It was like if there were some answers to be had, there were five different answers. And I got a little bit tired of the committee meetings. But like what John Cleese said about Monty Python, I basically thought I’m going to get four other musicians where I don’t need to have a committee meeting and just get on with playing the music.”
That history makes tonight’s planned appearance particularly notable. Blackmore has spent much of the past 25 years concentrating on Renaissance and folk-influenced music with Blackmore’s Night rather than performing hard rock.
When is Ritchie Blackmore reuniting with Deep Purple?
Blackmore is expected to join Deep Purple during the band’s encore at Northwell at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York, on Wednesday 12 August 2026.
The planned appearance is expected to last for just one song. Blackmore has made clear that this is intended as a brief reunion rather than a return to Deep Purple.
