Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow Play First Show In 19 Years
Deep Purple/Rainbow guitarist Ritchie Blackmore has been playing traditional folk music with his new band Blackmore’s Night for the past two decades. But last night, as UltimateClassicRock reports, at the Monsters Of Rock Festival in St. Goarshausen, Germany, Blackmore returned to his rock ‘n’ roll roots, with Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow performing live for the first time in 19 years. The group’s new lineup included drummer David Keith and bassist Bob Nouveau of Blackmore’s Night along with keyboardist Jens Johansson and vocalist Ronnie Romero. The setlist was split evenly between Deep Purple and Rainbow material — they opened with one Deep Purple classic in “Highway Star” and closed with another in “Smoke On The Water.” Watch some footage from the show below.