sold-out stop Thursday at Lehigh University\u2019s Zoellner Arts Center<\/a>. He is joined by a versatile three-piece backing band consisting of keyboardist Todd Caldwell, bassist Adam Minkoff, and multi-instrumentalist Zach Djanikian. We caught up with him to talk about the current political climate, carrying on the live legacy of the CSN catalog, and why his classic protest songs remain intensely relevant today.<\/p>\nQ: Your\u00a0\u201cNow\u201d\u00a0album was recently praised for finding profound meaning in everyday occurrences. Do you find your observational lens as a writer has zoomed in or zoomed out as you\u2019ve gotten older?<\/p>\n
A: Now that I\u2019m 84, you tend to realize that life may be coming to an end soon, though I certainly hope to be here until I\u2019m at least 100. You don\u2019t deal with nonsense very well. You tend to focus on what\u2019s really real.<\/p>\n
Q: Looking at larger issues versus very personal things, it seems you\u2019re connecting with both. Is that true?<\/p>\n
A: Very much so. My wife, Amy, sent me an incredible quote from Nina Simone: \u201cNo matter what kind of an artist you are \u2014 a painter, or a musician, or a sculptor, or anything like that \u2014 you have to reflect the times in which you live.\u201d I\u2019m constantly aware of what\u2019s going on around me personally, and certainly what\u2019s going on in the world generally.<\/p>\n
Q: Looking back at \u201cSongs for Beginners,\u201d how do you view the writer you were back then compared to the writer you are today?<\/p>\n
A: In a simple way, we thought Richard Nixon was mad. Crazy. Look what we\u2019re dealing with today. I really don\u2019t believe that many of the people who voted Trump in for a second term were voting for all the stuff he\u2019s doing right now. He\u2019s becoming an autocrat and a dictator, he wants to destroy democracy, and he wants to align himself with other dictators around the world. I don\u2019t think they would have voted for any of this.<\/p>\n
Q: You\u2019re bringing deeper cuts and rarities into the setlist right now to reflect the current political climate \u2014 \u201cMilitary Madness,\u201d \u201cImmigration Man,\u201d and \u201cChicago,\u201d in particular.<\/p>\n
A: I\u2019m honored that my music has lasted so long in people\u2019s minds, but at the same time, I realize we don\u2019t learn from history. Songs like \u201cImmigration Man,\u201d \u201cMilitary Madness,\u201d \u201cChicago,\u201d and even \u201cTeach Your Children\u201d are still incredibly relevant today.<\/p>\n
Q: When I first heard \u201cImmigration Man,\u201d I assumed it was a slightly tongue-in-cheek song about your personal experience, maybe with an H-1B visa problem or something.<\/p>\n
A: Right, right.<\/p>\n
Q: But listening to it now feels very different than it did back then. When you perform it live today, do you feel that shift as well?<\/p>\n
A: It\u2019s more intense now, because, you know, stuff about immigration policy of this country is on the front pages of The New York Times today. When we play \u201cImmigration Man,\u201d audiences understand what the policies of the United States are. It seems anyone who is Black or brown needs to be deported in Trump\u2019s world.<\/p>\n
So it was a personal experience, but I\u2019ve managed as a writer to realize that I\u2019m just like everybody else. You know, what happened to me may have happened to you, which is the case in many of my songs.<\/p>\n
Q: David Crosby passed away a few years ago, Stephen Stills is no longer touring, and Neil Young is avoiding the CSN catalog. Does being the sole active touring custodian of these songs change the weight they carry?<\/p>\n
A: Yes, they seem much heavier to me now. That\u2019s what we wanted to do with CSN and CSNY. We wanted people to be able to shake their ass and have a good time, but we also wanted them to think about what we were saying.<\/p>\n
Q: Did that work?<\/p>\n
A: I believe it did. The hippies were a good thing. They wanted you to love your brother and believed that peace is way better than war. I think that\u2019s happening again. Look at all the \u201cNo Kings\u201d protests around the world. Viewing it from our generation, I have hope that Generation Z is the next generation doing that. That\u2019s why \u201cTeach Your Children\u201d is still relevant. There\u2019s a lot you can learn from your kids, and a lot they can learn from you. Young people today are brighter, they think more, and they\u2019re not as easily brainwashed.<\/p>\n
Q: Looking back on your journey \u2014 from The Hollies and CSN to CSNY, Crosby & Nash, and this latest solo tour at the age of 84 \u2014 what is the one thing that has stayed with you through it all?<\/p>\n
A: Something my mother told me when I was a child. She said, \u201cFollow your heart. Your heart knows what\u2019s good, your heart knows what\u2019s bad. Life is full of choices, make sure you make the right choice.\u201d I\u2019ll never forget that.<\/p>\n
Bill Forman is a freelance writer.<\/p>\n
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![\"From](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/TMC-L-CNY_55ae9a.jpg\")
From left, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills and Neil Young of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, perform at a concert at Madison Square Garden. (James Kelvom)<\/p>\n