Graham Nash has been singing about the world being on fire for about 65 of his 84 years.
So when we interviewed Nash, the Grammy-award-winning classic rock legend — one third of the supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash and a successful solo artist — about his upcoming show at the Charleston Music Hall on April 20, we looked at the world around us, ditched our first question and asked, essentially, “Aren’t you tired of trying to tell people about the ravages of war, hatred and the destruction of the environment?”
“Yeah,” the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member succinctly told the Charleston City Paper in a recent interview. After a moment, he added, “It’s a very chaotic world, particularly politically and with climate change. It’s very disturbing to see the news every day and what our president is doing. It’s pretty horrifying.”
For his Charleston Music Hall show, Nash has some songs planned that, sadly, are more relevant now than when they were written. His activism over the years is apparent in his nightly set list, punctuated by his crack band and his still-intact light, expressive tenor.
“Normally I have a six or seven song skeleton in my set,” he said. “They really want to hear ‘Military Man,’ ‘Immigration Man’ and ‘Chicago,’ along with ‘Teach Your Children’ and ‘Our House.’ But in between all those songs, I can choose from the several hundred songs that I’ve written. And so the set does change every night.”
Nash will also perform selections from his newest solo album, Now, along with tracks from his other eight solo albums, which have collectively sold more than 2 million copies.
From what Nash can see when he looks out into the audience, his material is still striking a chord like it did back in the late ’60s.
“The demographic of my audience is somewhere between 14 and 75,” he said with a laugh. “It’s quite a range, and a lot of the younger people have been turned on to my music by their parents or their family members.”
Nash’s storytelling on stage is another reason that people still come to see him play. A born storyteller whether in words or song, he talks about how and why his songs were written throughout the evening. It’s difficult to resist his charm when he talks about writing “Our House” after spending the day with his former love, singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell.
“A lot of people are interested in how songs are created and why they are created,” he said. “And they’re also interested in what’s going on inside my head when I want to say something. So storytelling is a big part of my show, and people enjoy it.”
Nash’s bandmate and lifelong friend David Crosby passed away a few years ago, and it was a reminder that Nash is one of the last true ’60s titans still standing. And he’s pretty blunt about the reason why he’s still around.
“I am not addicted to anything,” he said. “I even stopped smoking dope several years ago, and I stopped snorting cocaine in 1984. I’m more interested in living a good life, being as healthy as I can and making sure that I honor my audience by doing the best show that I can do.”
But it’s not just health that keeps Nash’s artistic passion alive. He draws inspiration from things outside of music, most notably his photography. His 2021 book, A Life in Focus: The Photography of Graham Nash, showcases over 50 years of his personal photographs, paintings, and mixed-media art. It’s filled with intimate portraits, landscapes and candid shots, often taken while on tour with The Hollies or Crosby, Stills & Nash.
And that’s why, on April 20, you might see Graham Nash walking around Charleston with his camera. He tries to do that in every city he plays in.
“My curiosity about the world keeps my passion alive,” he said. “My wife, Amy, showed me a quote by Nina Simone that was really impressive to me: ‘No matter what kind of artist you are, you must reflect the times in which you live.’ And that’s what I’m trying to do every day.”
IF YOU WANT TO GO: Doors open at 6:30 p.m., April 20, Charleston Music Hall, 37 John St., Charleston. Tickets range from $79-$299. charlestonmusichall.com
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