Hailing from Blackpool, England, Graham Nash’s show at Lehigh was one of three universities hosting his band with Todd Caldwell, Adam Minkoff and Zach Djanikian on their North American tour.
The two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee of supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and The Hollies rocked a sold-out show in Baker Hall on Thursday night.
Nash has a history of being politically outspoken, and his show in Bethlehem was no exception.
Between songs, he referenced Ukrainian elections, the Iran war, Israeli relations with Palestinian people and the Epstein files.
Nash released his most recent album, NOW, in 2023.
According to his website, the album features songs like “Stand Up” and “Golden Idols,” both focusing on political change.
He and Jackson Browne are co-founders of Musicians United for Safe Energy, an activist group founded in 1979 to oppose nuclear-powered energy.
Alongside other artists like Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor and The Doobie Brothers, Nash and Browne facilitated the “No Nukes” concert series in September 1979 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Nash was also a frequent collaborator and ex-partner of Joni Mitchell, whom he mentioned multiple times in his speeches to the audience.
At the beginning of the show, Nash and his band performed “I Used to be King,” which he said was a song he wrote for Joni Mitchell after they broke up.
Nash also shared an anecdote about Mitchell and him finding a vase at a thrift store on Ventura Boulevard in Los Angeles on a cold California day.
He said that experience turned into the conception of the hit song, “Our House,” where he references lighting a fire and putting flowers in a recently purchased vase.
The crowd was singing most of the songs alongside Nash and his band.
Mark Wilson, executive director of Zoellner Arts Center, said he’s glad Nash played popular songs the audience would sing.
“I was very happy that the audience loved it,” Wilson said.
Audience member Coleen Finelli said she shed tears during Nash’s rendition of “To the Last Whale.”
“I got my tissue up my sleeve,” she said as she began to tear up.
Finelli said the energy at the show was great. She said she had previously seen Crosby, Stills and Nash play, and said that Nash sounded wonderful.
Standing out amongst an older crowd, Matt Schafer, ‘27, said he got his free student ticket in August.
“I’m a big fan of Graham Nash and all the work that he did with music,” Schafer said. There’s not really another opportunity for me to do this.”
He said he learned about Nash in high school when one of his teachers played him Crosby, Stills and Nash for the first time.
Schafer said ever since then, he’s been a huge fan.
He said Nash’s music from the 1970s is reflective of our times today, and that Nash uses his platform well.
“Whether you agree or disagree with him, you have to respect that he gets up there and sort of does his thing,” Schafer said.
He said his favorite part of the set was towards the end, when Nash jammed out with some of his more iconic and well-known hits.
Nash closed the set with “Ohio,” an upbeat song about the Kent State shootings, and “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes,” a tune about a breakup between Judy Collins and Nash’s bandmate Stephen Stills.
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