Our house this Saturday, April 11, 2026 evening is New Brunswick’s State Theatre New Jersey where a capacity crowd excitedly awaits an appearance by singer/songwriter Graham Nash.
Nash, 84 — a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Grammy Award winner, and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee — is known internationally for his unique tenor voice. In the early 1960s he co-founded The Hollies, which had hits with tunes like “Just One Look” and “Carrie Ann.” Introduced to musicians Stephen Stills and David Crosby by The Mamas and the Papas’ Cass Elliot, Nash left The Hollies in 1968 to form the supergroup Crosby, Stills and Nash which — with the addition of Neil Young — became Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
Inside the historic State Theatre New Jersey auditorium, the lights dim and the crowd cheers as multi-faceted musicians Zach Djanikia, Adam Minkoff, and Todd Caldwell take the stage along with Graham Nash.
“Good evening!” says Nash, “Are we all feeling good tonight?” as he and his bandmates take seats and open tonight’s show with Nash’s 1971 solo Top 40 hit, “Chicago,” where Nash accompanies himself on acoustic guitar as Djanikia plays electric guitar, Minkoff is on drums, and Caldwell plays twin keyboards.
Tight harmonies ring out on the protest song’s “We can change the world/Rearrange the world” lyric before the large crowd responds with enthusiastic cheers and applause.
“It’s gonna be a good night!” declares Nash as he and the band migrate into Crosby, Stills and Nash’s “Marrakesh Express” where audience members happily sing along on the catchy “Would you know we’re riding/On the Marrakesh Express” chorus and Zach Djanikia makes his electric guitar sing on this sunshine-pop tune. Moving on to “Pre-Road Downs,” Nash sings with power and conviction, “I have kissed you so I’ll miss you/On the road I’ll be wantin’ you,” on this 1969 Crosby, Stills and Nash folk-rocker.
Announcing, “Here’s a song I wrote for Joni Mitchell after we broke up,” Nash follows up with a track from his 1971 debut studio solo album, “I Used to Be a King,” where he calls out in his smooth voice, “I used to be a king and everything around me turned to gold,” on this appealing country waltz.
In introducing his next number, Nash wonders, “Is it just me or is the world just f*cked over?” suggesting, “We elected a ‘no-foreign-wars’ president prior to referring to current conflicts in Israel/Gaza and Ukraine. Although several audience members shout out, “No politics!” many stand and cheer for “Military Madness” after they join Nash in singing the folk-rock song’s “No more war” refrain.
Nash cites statistics about planet Earth before he and the band perform the touching Crosby/Nash ballad, “Milky Way Tonight,” as rays of light illuminate the stage.
Nash follows up by telling a story about when he was member of The Hollies and met up with 15-year-old songwriter, Graham Gouldman. After listening to “No Milk Today” — which Gouldman had already promised to Herman’s Hermits — Nash and The Hollies decided to record the teen’s 1966 pop-rock tune, “Bus Stop,” where Nash sings, “Bus stops, bus goes/She stays, love grows/Under my umbrella,” before Minkoff and Djanikia play counterpoint on guitar and mandolin.
Nash cries, “‘Treat me like a human’/Is all I got to say,” on the folk story song, “Fieldworker,” where Minkoff renders an impressive slide guitar solo as Djanikia keeps time on the drums. Then, authentic CSN-style harmonies ring out on “Immigration Man,” a 1972 Top 40 Crosby/Nash hit, as Nash and Co. sing, “Let me in/Let me in, immigration man/Can I cross the line and pray/I can stay another day,” on this driving folk-rocker.
Nash plays piano on “Better Days” — a folk-rock song he wrote for Rita Coolidge which also features Djanikia on sax — before accompanying himself on acoustic guitar on “Love the One You’re With.” On this groove-filled interpretation of Stephen Stills’ 1970 hit, the audience claps and sings along on the song’s well-known “And if you can’t be with the one you love, honey/Love the one you’re with” chorus and Caldwell plays a swirling organ solo.
Band members leave Nash alone on stage to play harmonica and acoustic guitar on his poignant rock story song, “Oh! Camil (The Winter Soldier),” where he sings with emotion, “Will you tell all the people about the people you killed/Not for God but for country and war?”
Caldwell, Minkoff, and Djanikia return to join Nash on “Simple Man,” a song he wrote about the end of his relationship with singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell. Crooning, “I just want to hold you/I don’t want to hold you down/But I can’t make it alone,” his harmonica playing adds to the mood of this simple country-rocker.
Concertgoers cheer and Nash responds, “New Brunswick, you are a great audience!” Here, he performs a highlight number of the show — his stunning 1977 composition, “Cathedral.” Confessing, “This is the first song I ever wrote on acid,” Nash cries, “I’m flying in Winchester Cathedral,” on this powerful and mystical performance which concludes with avid cheers, applause, and a standing ovation.
Nash regales the audience with a story about how, as he was once getting ready to leave Hawaii, he was challenged to write a song “just before you go.” On 1977’s “Just a Song Before I Go,” Nash plays acoustic guitar as he sings, “Just a song before I go/To whom it may concern/Traveling twice the speed of sound/It’s easy to get burned,” accompanied by Minkoff on drums, Djanikia on electric guitar, and Campbell on keys.
The crowd cheers after Nash exclaims, “I can’t be the only one who is so glad that Joni Mitchell is still alive!” and he and the band step into 1977’s “Our House” — a song he wrote about his domestic relationship with Mitchell — where he leads the crowd as they sing together “for Joni” on the famous “Our house is a very, very, very fine house” chorus.
Music lovers stand and cheer and, after introducing his bandmates, Nash launches into a set of five encore numbers. First, music lovers join Nash on his 1970 folk-rocker, “Teach Your Children,” where they happily sing along on the song’s “Don’t you ever ask them why, if they told you, you would cry/So just look at them and sigh/And know they love you” chorus.
After declaring, “If we love each other, together, we will make it through the madness!” Nash and friends launch into Stephen Stills’ “Find the Cost of Freedom” where three-part vocal harmonies ring out on the poignant “Find the cost of freedom buried in the ground/Mother earth will swallow you, lay your body down” lyric.
Djanikia plays drums, Minkoff is on electric, Caldwell plays keys, and Nash accompanies himself on acoustic on a stunning live version of Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock” where the crowd stands and sings along on the effervescent “We are stardust, we are golden/We are billion-year-old carbon/And we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden” refrain.
Following a reprise of the “We can change the world” chorus from “Chicago,” Nash concludes tonight’s show with a live rendering of CSN’s 1969 track, “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.” Minkoff plays acoustic, Djanikia is on electric bass, and Caldwell plays tambourine as audience members happily sing along on the song’s “I am yours/You are mine/You are what you are” refrain. After the piece shifts into the “Friday evening” section, the “Chestnut brown canary” movement, and the sparkling “Do-do-do-do-do/Do do do-do-do-do” coda, the crowd claps and sings along before wildly standing and cheering, at which point Nash responds, “Thank you, New Jersey! We wish you peace!” and he and his bandmates bow and exit the stage.
As concertgoers make their way out of the auditorium, several share their thoughts on tonight’s performance by Graham Nash. Comments Mark from Canfield, OH, “I’ve seen Graham Nash over a hundred times and I’ve been following him on this tour — I’ve seen his last five shows — and this was the best of them all. Give Graham a thumbs-up — his voice is still great!” Karen from Edison agrees, noting, “I thought he was amazing; he didn’t miss a beat. His voice is still incredible and his message still rings through all these years later.”
Jill from Seaside Park insists, “It was an awesome show! At 84 years old, he belted it out for two hours straight and his musicians are really good.” Douglas from Seaside Heights concurs, adding, “I’ve seen Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young numerous times and Graham Nash and his band tonight were really tight — I enjoyed the performance.”
Ellen from West Orange contends, “I loved this show. You worry when you go to a concert with some of the older artists because you know what they used to sound like, but Graham Nash is so humble, plus he performs with such fabulous musicians.” Joel from Cherry Hill notes, “I’ve seen him many times before and, at 84, he still sounds so good, I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Michael from Cherry Hill asserts, “I thought it was an outstanding concert! I liked the way the show progressed over the course of the evening — it was a little bit activist, which I thought was fine because that’s who he is — but to end with ‘Suite: Judy Blue Eyes’ was incredible; I never thought in my lifetime I’d live to hear that song live.”
Lastly, Judy from Manhattan acknowledges, “I waited all night for Graham to sing ‘Suite: Judy Blue Eyes’ and it was absolutely fantastic!” Adding, “He was just amazing tonight — he lives in the city and he walks around my neighborhood all the time,” Judy concludes, “Graham was outstanding, the band was great, and the harmonies were incredible, too, making this a do-not-miss concert!”
To learn more about Graham Nash, please go to grahamnash.com. For info on upcoming shows at STNJ — including The Beach Boys on May 30, Ben Folds and the New Jersey Symphony on June 14, Joe Jackson on July 8, and Buddy Guy on August 8 — please click on stnj.org.
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