Graham Nash
Graham Nash has been making music professionally for more than 60 years, from the Merseybeat rhythms of The Hollies to the era-defining folk-rock of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on through his extensive solo career. But when looking back on his decades of songwriting, he recalls a particular quote that Nina Simone gave a reporter during a 1969 television interview: “An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times.”
“I totally agree with that,” Nash tells the Scene. “And that’s what I try and do with my music. It applies to the times in which I live here. And there’s a tremendous amount of stuff going on that needs to be spoken about.”
Running alongside the protests against the Vietnam War, the music of CSNY became a soundtrack for the counterculture movement of the 1960s and ’70s. And in today’s turbulent political climate, Nash is continuing to make music to mirror the times while not shying away from his opposition to the Trump administration. “Golden Idols,” a song on his 2023 record Now, is about U.S. Republicans’ continued support for Trump, as he sings: “They’re trying to rewrite recent history / When the MAGA tourists took the Hill / They will not stand up ’cause they’re bought and paid for / Golden idols control them still.”
“I know that there are some Republicans that are very displeased with what he’s doing,” Nash says. “But the majority of Republicans, particularly in the House and the Senate, are giving him room to move like he is. … I’ve been an American citizen for over 50 years. I love this country, and I joined it because I wanted to be a part of this society. I wanted to be able to praise this country for what it does that I feel is great stuff, and I need to be able to criticize this country when it does things that I don’t agree with. … ‘Golden Idols’ is a perfect example of what I’m talking about.”
Aside from the politics, the songs on Now are among the most intimate Nash has ever written. The album features five love songs for his wife Amy Grantham.
“It is a very personal album,” he says, “and I think that a lot of people understand that the songs that I write — even though they’re for me, usually they apply to them too.”
He adds that his perspective on both political and personal songwriting has changed drastically over the years, as he’s learned plenty from his bandmates.
“When I started writing songs when I was beginning with The Hollies, my songs were pretty simple,” says Nash. “But when I moved to America and joined David [Crosby] and Stephen [Stills] and saw what they were writing, or what Neil [Young] was writing, or what Joni [Mitchell] was writing — I realized that if I took my ability to write simple music, but utilized better words about the world and what was happening in the world, both on a personal level, and just generally worldwide, my songwriting changed a great deal.”
As he prepares to head to Nashville for shows at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s CMA Theater on Friday and Saturday, Nash hopes the audience can forget their worries and wind down. He encourages them to sing along.
“People deserve a couple of hours of relative peace, and that’s what happens in my concerts,” he says. “They can relax. Their shoulders can come down. … I really enjoy when people sing my songs back to me. You know, when they do that, it means that they’re invested in the music, that they’ve taken the time to learn the words and the melody — particularly our songs, like ‘Teach Your Children’ and ‘Our House.’ I love it when they sing back to me, because the audience is a part of the show.”
When he’s not onstage, Nash is practicing his photography. In 2021, he published his photography book A Life in Focus, which features images of his mother and self-portraits along with photographs of stars like Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Cass Elliot. His photography technique imitates the methodology behind his music.
“I don’t take pictures of sunsets. I’d rather remember them in my mind. I see absurdity all around me, and I take photographs of that. It’s very much like my music. It’s snapshots of what’s happening around me in my life.”
