The season is over, but keep checking back for the 2023 season once it is announced by Point of the Bluff!
For the complete list of upcoming concerts at Point of the Bluff, go here.
GRAHAM NASH IN CONCERT
By Scott Gudell
“All the things we stood for, that love is better than hatred, that peace is better than war, that we
have to take care of our fellow human beings, because that’s all we have on this planet – those
things are still true today. I need to know that we’ve brought something into the world that was
positive and not negative” – Graham Nash
Once the audience at the Sunday July 31, 2022 Graham Nash concert at the amazingly idyllic setting of the Point of the Bluff Winery in New York State settled in, it was quickly evident they knew just about every word of every song. Nash reached into a treasure chest of originals, collaborations and covers that resonated with everyone. But it wasn’t just a family reunion sing-a-long since most of the lyrics were so well crafted that their messages have long been an important part of so many peoples’ lives for so many years.
Singer/guitarist Nash chose to distill his musical partners for this show down to a keyboardist (Todd Caldwell) and a guitarist (Shane Fontayne) as they cherry picked songs Nash has performed over the last half century up to the present day. He actually played so many guitars that day that you half expected his guitar tech to hand him a different guitar mid-song. Thankfully, that never happened. The group opened with “Golden Days” which was a nostalgic, instant nod to yesterday. Then, as a tip of the hat to ‘my oldest friend,’ Nash presented the catchy, upbeat Brit and US hit “Bus Stop” as recorded and released by Nash, Alan Clarke and the Hollies in the mid-1960s. Other familiar songs performed that day included “Marrakesh Express” about a chaotic and magical train trip from Casablanca to Marrakesh in which Nash migrated away from the ‘blue haired’ crowd in one car to the ‘smoke and chickens’ at the back of the train, “Lady of the Island” (‘here’s a song I wrote for Joni’ Nash reminded us,) “A Case of You” (one of the songs Joni herself sang just a few days prior at a brief but long hoped for return to the stage) and more. These upbeat songs were balanced by more cautionary messages since Nash went beyond simply entertaining by interacting and advocating. The British born Nash assured everyone that after the UK survived two world wars “we thought the world looked pretty grim but we made it through.” He unfurled “Find the Cost of Freedom” and “Military Madness” while calling out the most infamous insane madman of the 21st century – so far – who has put the world, as the head of the UN proclaimed, “one step away from nuclear annihilation.” But the final songs, such as “Teach Your Children,” reassured everyone that there is a tomorrow before he bid farewell…for now.
Saying someone speaks from the heart could be a catch phrase that’s all too easy to reference but Nash truly does speak from a passionate heart. His inner voice is true, his songs and lyrics are authentic and he is sincere. He’s part of a rarefied group of other iconic eighty- year old masters currently active such as Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson so there is a knowing recognition when Nash personally delivers his message to every person listening, young and old. The faithful continue to believe while new people are converted.
