Ritchie Blackmore Plays ‘Smoke on the Water’ With Deep Purple For First Time in 33 Years

Ritchie Blackmore performing “Smoke on the Water” with Deep Purple, on August 12, 2026.

Ritchie Blackmore shared the stage with his former Deep Purple bandmates on Wednesday (August 12, 2026) for the first time since 1993. Not surprisingly, the legend joined the classic rockers on “Smoke on the Water,” performing his signature guitar work on the 1972 favorite. The action took place during the end of the band’s concert at Northwell at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh (L.I.), New York.

Deep Purple—Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Don Airey, and Simon McBride—is currently on a major tour to support their new studio album, Splat!, produced by Bob Ezrin, and released on July 3 via Ear Music. The North American shows follow European dates earlier this summer. The world tour then brings the band back to major arenas across Europe in autumn and to South America in December. Tickets are available here.

Earlier in the week, Blackmore, who turned 81 on April 14, indicated that he had reached out to Gillan about joining the band for this performance. The venue is not far from where he maintains a residence. The guitarist had abruptly postponed a Fall 2025 tour with his band Blackmore’s Night due to health issues.

Blackmore surprisingly exited Deep Purple in 1975 when he disagreed with their change of direction and sought to form a band that would be more rocking. This led to the formation of Rainbow, and their classic debut album, Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow.

“Smoke on the Water,” from 1972’s Machine Head album, was released as a single on May 21, 1973. It became, along with 1968’s “Hush,” Deep Purple’s biggest U.S. hit at #4. Further details of its origins are in our feature, How the Song Came to Be.

Watch Blackmore perform the song with Deep Purple on August 12, 2026, from several different vantage points

Deep Purple’s catalog—including Splat!—is available here.