Ritchie Blackmore’s Jones Beach Cameo

Ritchie Blackmore surprised the crowd at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York, last month by stepping onstage with Deep Purple for a short encore — a moment many fans saw as a public reconciliation after decades of tension.

Blackmore hadn’t played with Purple since November 1993 in Helsinki, when his mid-tour exit left a long-running rift, particularly with singer Ian Gillan. A few days before the Jones Beach show, Blackmore messaged Gillan saying he lived nearby and asked if he might pop up for a single encore. The band accepted the offer.

After the thirteenth song of the set, "Space Truckin'," the stage paused and road crew moved quickly as the audience realised something unusual was happening. Current Purple guitarist Simon McBride encouraged Blackmore forward; the veteran rocker placed his hat on the amps and launched into the opening riff of "Smoke On The Water." The cameo lasted about six minutes — not the tightest performance musically, but unmistakably powerful in atmosphere and sentiment.

“I wasn’t really surprised it happened,” Gillan says.

Gillan told the crowd he and Blackmore have been in contact and that old grievances are behind them. He described the moment as a pleasure and thanked Blackmore onstage. After the show, Gillan said they spent around half an hour talking and shared a drink — a small, friendly reunion rather than a formal reunion tour announcement.

Blackmore, now 81, later reflected that he hadn’t warmed up and kept his playing simple; he framed the cameo as a chance to see old friends and to heal any lingering feelings, rather than a display of technical guitar mastery. He also posted on social media that he’d had a great time and thanked the band.

For fans the moment mattered more as closure and camaraderie than as a flawless musical statement: decades of history reduced to a short, surprising encore that let the players and the audience share an unmistakable lift. Whether Blackmore will sit in again is unclear — he lives locally and, Gillan said, would be welcome if they play the area again.

Read the original report on Classic Rock for more detail: Classic Rock.