Legendary folk-rock singer Graham Nash is making a stop at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign Tuesday night on his 2026 tour.
Nash, a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, has been performing for over six decades with his band The Hollies, as one of four members of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, and as a solo artist.
Now, at age 84, Nash is still writing and performing new music. In an interview with IPM News’ Sam Rink, he discussed politics, his love for performing, and wanting to give his audience the best concert of their lives. Nash is scheduled to perform at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign this evening on his 2026 tour.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
GRAHAM NASH: One of them (the songs) is about ICE, which I completely disagree with what the Trump administration is doing. And the other is a very interesting song written by Zach Djanickian, my guitar player called The Witness Tree. In case you are curious, The Witness Tree were all the trees that were planted at Gettysburg that were witness to the Civil War. They’re called the witness trees because they’re still standing.
SAM RINK: You’re pretty upfront about your politics, especially in your 2023 album, and a lot has changed in the world since then. Has anything changed for you? What does it mean to be performing these songs?
NASH: Well, I think this. The pendulum swings both ways and the pendulum is coming back. And I think we only have two years left of the Trump administration. Now I realize that he could do a lot of damage to democracy in that two years, but it’s getting shorter and shorter as the days go by.
RINK: Graham, you’re 84 years old. A lot of your contemporaries have unfortunately died or hung up their hats. They’re not playing anymore. So what drives you to keep performing and keep touring at the extent that you have been? Or do you even think about your age at all?
NASH: I love what I do. I love being a musician. I love talking to my audiences. I want my audiences to be a part of the show, not just looking at somebody up there on stage. If they want to sing with any song that I want to sing, God bless you. Come on, sing your loudest. Because I believe in my heart that if they sing the melody and the lyrics that they’ve learned, it means that that song means something very special to them and why not do it?
RINK: I actually wanted to ask about your audience. What kind of response do you get from them these days?
NASH: I can only go from the show that we did about four nights ago in Red Rocks in Colorado and the audience were on their feet for the last six songs. That’s unbelievable to me. What’s going on in my shows is that people are realizing that as chaotic as the political world is and the world of climate change, that they can at least get a couple of hours of peace. And the thing about my songs is this. Obviously Neil Young is not going to play any CSN songs. Steven has stopped touring. David, unfortunately, as you know, passed away about two or three years ago. And if you want to hear any of that kind of music, you have to come and see me.
RINK: Is there something that you want your audience to take away from this tour?
NASH: Yeah. What I want is when they leave, they realize they just saw one of the best performances that they’ve seen. I have had so many comments on, “I’ve known this guy for a long, long time, but that was the best concert I’d ever seen.” And I want that feeling in my audiences when they leave.
RINK: I saw that this tour was extended into the fall. There’s some dates in September now. So should people expect you to slow down anytime soon or what’s next for you?
NASH: I don’t know how people think about me, but I know this. I’m always moving forward. I’m always writing new songs. I’m always creating songs that they want to hear. You see, I have a skeleton of my set list and it’s six or seven songs that I know people want to hear. They want to hear Teach Your Children. They want to hear Our House. They want to hear Military Manors. They want to hear Chicago We Can Change the World. They want to hear Immigration Man. But in between all those songs, I can go anywhere in my musical writing that I choose to go. I know that every single night that we have played for at least the last 10 years, the audience have understood exactly what I’m trying to do and they are loving the shows.
RINK: That’s great to hear. It sounds like we’re in for a good time in Champaign.
NASH: Absolutely.
RINK: Thank you so much for speaking with me today.
NASH: You’re very welcome, Sam. Thank you very much.
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