Graham Nash, one of music’s most enduring performers, comes to Costa Mesa on April 1
Graham Nash is in the middle of his North American tour in support of his critically acclaimed new album, “This Path Tonight,” which has landed on seven different Billboard charts in the U.S.
At 75, the singer-songwriter is one of rock music’s most enduring entertainers.
On April 1, he will be performing at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa.
Joining him will be Shane Fontayne, Nash’s longtime collaborator and producer of “This Path Tonight,” which was released worldwide last April. Together, the two will perform songs from Nash’s new album along with fan favorites from his days in the Hollies and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Each song will be accompanied by short anecdotes and backstories from his 50-year career.
“I think I’m incredibly lucky to stand before an audience paying money to see me, and I want to give them good value and see them,” said Nash, speaking from his home in New York City.
“This Path Tonight” is Nash’s sixth solo studio album and his first studio album in 14 years.
During that time, Nash was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a second time. He also wrote a memoir, embarked on two tours with CSN and watched the music group — which often included Neil Young — once again disband.
The collection of 10 songs in his latest album paint an emotional journey. During the album’s writing period, Nash reflected on his separation from his wife, Susan, after 38 years of marriage. He said he learned about letting go and facing the future with courage.
“I try to remain open 360 degrees and 365 days a year,” Nash said. “The author has to feel something, and then you start thinking about all that, and suddenly you got a melody.”
Take his lyrics for “Encore,” the new album’s last song.
He sings:
“What you gonna do when the last show is over? What you gonna do when you can’t touch base? What you gonna do when the applause’s all over? And you can’t turn your back on what you face? Encore, encore, the last song is over. More, more, the crowd’s on its feet. Sure, sure, adulation is so pleasing. Encore, encore.”
He explains:
“I’m talking to myself, asking, ‘Who are you? Are you a decent human being? Or are you just taking?’ ” Nash said.
Nash, who doesn’t have a vocal coach and warms up two minutes before walking onstage, said each concert features a different set list because he prefers changing song selections every night on tour.
He can refer to more than 100 songs he has written from his prolific catalog, which keeps growing.
Nash said he has the makings of 30 to 40 songs in his head that are relevant to what is happening in the world.
For Nash, music is about communicating.
He also tells stories in a different medium. Nash was a photographer before he was a musician.
His family grew up poor in Salford, England. One of his father’s greatest pleasures was taking his children to the zoo, and during one of those excursions, he taught a young Nash how to load film into a camera and later showed him how to process color in the creation of prints.
“That was magic to me,” Nash said, noting he took his first portrait shot at 11 years old.
Today, Nash is well-regarded for his photography. He has been awarded the New York Institute of Technology’s Arts & Technology Medal, and last year he was inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum in St. Louis.
His company, Nash Editions, has an original IRIS 3047 digital printer and one of its first published works — his 1969 portrait of David Crosby — in the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
But music is his main form of expression, he said, because he can look into people’s eyes and make an emotional connection.
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If You Go
What: Graham Nash: “This Path Tonight”
When: 8 p.m. April 1
Where: Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa
Cost: Tickets start at $39
Information: (714) 556-2787 or visit scfta.org.
Twitter: @KathleenLuppi
