Ritchie Blackmore To Do Reunion Jam With Deep Purple

08-12-2026

Legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore took to social media to share the big news that he will be returning to the stage with his former bandmates in Deep Purple for the first time since 1993.

Blackmore said in an Instagram livestream, "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."

Ritchie explained that he suggested the reunion to frontman Ian Gillan, "I actually called up... I didn't call him up, I sent my A.I. pigeon to 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."

He explained further, "I have my roadie there kind of now, setting up my amplifier. But I'll be using a small amplifier, but it's very loud. It's what I use when I record. I hope I can compete with the guitar player, because I can see that he has very big amplifiers behind him. So, it'd probably just be the one number, as it's been a while. I changed my strings on my Strat, which I haven't done in over 25 years... I hope the guy out in the front can turn me up. I've got my roadie there for a soundcheck."

The reunion jam will take place during the encore of tonight's Deep Purple concert at the Northwell at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York. The guitarist said of the announcement, "I just thought it might be an idea to let a few people know 'cause I think a lot of people would like to see that. So hopefully my guitar stays in tune, and I can play whatever song is going to be played. It's just the one song, I think."