I couldn’t let Neil Young‘s 70th birthday pass by without mentioning there is an actual museum dedicated to him. Neil might have sung about “a town in north Ontario” in the song “Helpless” but he spent part of his childhood in what is more like south-central Ontario, in the town of Omemee, where the museum is located.* Open since 2008, the Youngtown Rock & Roll Museum not only showcases all things Neil Young but also rock n’ roll memorabilia from the 50s, 60s and 70s, including photos, posters, guitars, and albums. The focus is really the Canadian music scene with items from not only Young, but the Guess Who, the Sadies, and the Band. Although Young is not officially affiliated with the museum, he has donated items, like a guitar he’d used for practice on his tour bus as well as the Mason and Risch upright piano he bought for his father to use the last twelve years of his life. Young even visited the museum in 2010.
Youngtown Rock & Roll Museum, Canada
