My Morning Jacket & Modest Mouse Cover Neil Young For ‘Heart Of Gold’ Benefit Album

By Andy Kahn Sep 11, 2026 • 9:04 am PDT

My Morning Jacket with Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Modest Mouse with Califone released new cover songs today from the upcoming volumes of the compilation, Heart of Gold: The Songs of Neil Young. My Morning Jacket and Preservation Hall Jazz Band recorded a version of “Like a Hurricane,” and Modest Mouse and Califone recorded a version of “Barstool Blues.”

Heart of Gold: The Songs of Neil Young Vol. 2 – Out of the Blue and Heart of Gold: The Songs of Neil Young Vol. 3 – Into the Black are both due for release on November 6. The two volumes include new recordings from King Princess, LP, Draco Rosa, Lucinda Williams, MJ Lenderman, Ann Wilson, Los Lobos, Ben Gibbard, Kurt Vile, Edie Brickell, Peter Frampton and Cold War Kids, among other artists interpreting songs from Neil Young’s catalog.

Proceeds from both albums benefit The Bridge School, the nonprofit founded by Neil Young and his late ex-wife, Pegi Young, to support individuals with severe speech and physical impairments, including their son, Ben. Participating artists donated their recordings to the organization.

“We were so honored to get to be at several of the Bridge School Benefit concerts in the past, and are so honored to once again be a part of raising funds for this amazing school, with these amazing songs of Neil Young,” said My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James. “We felt like teaming up with Preservation Hall Jazz Band would add some magic to this track, so we all got together with producer Ross Hogarth down in New Orleans and recorded it live at Marigny Studios. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed playing it!”

Tap below to listen to My Morning Jacket and Pres Hall’s cover of “Like A Hurricane”:

Modest Mouse and Califone’s cover of “Barstool Blues” incorporates a Krautrock-influenced rhythm arrangement. Expounding on the approach to the cover, Modest Mouse leader Isaac Brock stated:

“Getting to do a cover of one of Neil’s songs on a project like this matters both because it gets to be helpful for an important cause like The Bridge School, and because it’s actually attached to the person whose song we are covering. It’s really… well, it’s a stressful honor. The stakes seem a little higher. I like that.

“I had initially chosen and started working on a cover of ‘Cortez the Killer’ before I realized that, in order to pull this off the way I’d like to, it was going to take me a thousand hours. Then it struck me: there is a song that I like just as much and find personally more relatable, ‘Barstool Blues.’ This was a song I could really sing my teeth into.

“On top of being such a catchy song, it was something that I felt more of a mental and emotional connection to than ‘Cortez’ anyway, which I have more of a “historical” emotional connection to.

“The next challenge any time you cover a song you’ve heard so many times is that it can be difficult to find a way not to make your version too close to the original. After all, why would anyone need that?

“I figured it out. I made it go Kraut.

“What a wonderful project to be included on.”

Stream Modest Mouse and Califone’s cover of “Barstool Blues”:

King Princess’s “Helpless” and Draco Rosa’s “After the Gold Rush” were previously released from the upcoming collections. The first Heart of Gold: The Songs of Neil Young volume was released in 2025.

Heart of Gold: The Songs of Neil Young, Vol. 2 – Out of the Blue Tracklist

1. My Morning Jacket featuring Preservation Hall Jazz Band – Like a Hurricane
2. Ann Wilson – Walk With Me
3. Draco Rosa – After the Gold Rush
4. Peter Frampton and John Jorgenson feat. Jay Dee Maness, Herb Pedersen, Steve Duncan, and Mark Fain – Heart of Gold
5. Lucinda Williams – Don’t Be Denied
6. Los Lobos – Cinnamon Girl
7. Edie Brickell – Only Love Can Break Your Heart
8. Tyler Ballgame – Tell Me Why
9. Sharlotte Gibson – Ohio
10. Jesse Malin – Pocahontas
11. Southside Johnny and Bobby Bandiera – Rockin’ In the Free World
12. Dramarama – Kinda Fonda Wanda

Heart of Gold: The Songs of Neil Young, Vol. 3 – Into the Black Tracklist

1. Briston Maroney – My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)
2. LP – Harvest Moon
3. King Princess – Helpless
4. Modest Mouse featuring Califone – Barstool Blues
5. Ben Gibbard – Don’t Cry No Tears
6. MJ Lenderman – Separate Ways
7. Cold War Kids – Tonight’s the Night
8. Kurt Vile and The Violators – When Your Lonely Heart Breaks
9. Devendra Banhart – Pardon My Heart
10. Emily Hackett – Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
11. RAC x Kelcey Ayer – Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)
12. New Constellations – Unknown Legend