From Woodstock to the Warner, Graham Nash is still singing for peace

Imagine stepping out onto a stage in front of hundreds of thousands of tired, wet and weary strangers with a lineup of songs they’ve never heard before. If you’re Graham Nash, who will perform with his current band at the Warner Theatre in Torrington on Sept. 30, you don’t have to imagine. You only have to remember.

The legendary Woodstock music festival was only the second concert Nash played with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Nash had already formed Crosby, Stills & Nash, releasing their debut album earlier that year. Theirs was a sound both new and nostalgic when it hit the scene in the late 1960s, and, thanks in part to the success all three members had had with previous bands, they instantly found a wide and willing audience.

But when they added singer-songwriter Neil Young, they also added new material they had performed together in front of an audience only once before.. Despite their inexperience with the material, their performance, which took place in the early morning hours of the festival’s final day, became one of Woodstock’s most memorable sets. Part of the encore of that seminal set was a protest song called “Find the Cost of Freedom.” It was just one of many socially conscious songs that would define the careers of Nash and his bandmates.

Nash was born in Blackpool, Lancashire, after his mother was evacuated there during World War II. Today, 84 years later, he is still fighting for peace. His weapon of choice, of course, is music.

Nash began his career with the successful British rock band the Hollies. He has recalled how everything changed when he first sang with Stephen Stills and David Crosby in Laurel Canyon, California.

Laurel Canyon was a musicians’ paradise, with soon-to-be household names popping into each other’s homes for impromptu jam sessions. When Nash took a trip to the area to visit his girlfriend, Joni Mitchell, Stills and Crosby, both of whom were looking for new bands, just happened to be there. The musical chemistry they discovered would lead to the formation of Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Since then, Nash has been an advocate for peace and other social causes, writing and performing protest songs around the world. “Ohio” was written by Neil Young and recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, while Nash and Young co-wrote “War Song.” Nash and David Crosby co-wrote “Immigration Man.” On his own, Nash wrote “Military Madness,” reflecting on his childhood in the shadow of World War II while the United States was fighting the Vietnam War.

More recently, Nash announced plans to release a new song about the unprecedented violence perpetrated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents called, simply “ICE.” Even at 84, Nash continues to use music as a vehicle for political and social expression.

For tickets, go to warnertheatre.org.