Ritchie Blackmore Reunites with Deep Purple After 33 Years, Performs “Smoke in the Water”

As promised, Ritchie Blackmore joined Deep Purple on stage for the first time in 33 years at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York on Wednesday night. The Rock and Roll Hall Fame guitarist reunited with his former band for a scorching rendition of “Smoke on the Water.” Blackmore co-founded Deep Purple in 1968, but hadn’t played with the band since exiting in 1993. In an Instagram video released ahead of Wednesday’s appearance, Blackmore explained that not only would he be joining Deep Purple for the first time in decades, but it would mark his first time playing rock music of any kind in many years, save for a brief Rainbow reunion in 2016. Get Deep Purple Tickets Here “So, that’s gonna be interesting,” he said. “I have not played rock music in 25 years, actually. It’ll be good to see the old guys again. I think we’ll all be on crutches and wheelchairs and things, although I think the rest of them are okay. But, yes, it’s kind of frightening. I haven’t played rock in 25 years… I’ve been playing acoustic guitar for 25 years, and at first I was very uncomfortable playing it, but I got used to it, and now I’m used to playing the acoustic more so than the electric.” In brief remarks...