Carrying On

It’s hard to believe that the band that helped to give voice to the fertile musical ground of Laurel Canyon, California, in the late ’60s is still going strong. There must have been something in the water back then.

It’s been 45 years since David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, and later, friend Neil Young, performed for Woodstock’s crowds and announced they were “scared shitless” about playing in front of people for only the second time ever. Two of the songs from their first album, Crosby, Stills and Nash, recorded in early 1969, still get regular play. Turn on just about any mainstream rock radio station and you’ll hear “Marrakesh Express” and “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.” There’s been little about their career since that momentous summer that hasn’t been noteworthy.

This Eugene stop is only the fifth on their summer tour that was recently announced. One unique aspect of this threesome is that each man was a lead presence in another popular band — Crosby with The Byrds, Stills with Buffalo Springfield, Nash with The Hollies. If an early summer show in Cleveland provides any insight into this tour, they’ll play a smorgasbord of CSN songs along with chestnuts from those other bands.

And, just to prove they’re not throwing in the towel any time soon, there’s a smattering of new songs too. Crosby released a new album, Croz, earlier this year, his first since 1993. Stills last recorded in 2013. It’s been a while since Nash released music, but he did publish a memoir in September 2013 entitled Wild Tales: A Rock & Roll Life. Indeed.

They don’t look like they used to, except for maybe Crosby’s mustache. And neither do we. But the songs, they are indelible.

Crosby, Stills and Nash play 7:30 pm Wednesday, Sept. 17, at Cuthbert Amphitheater; $45.50 general, $64.50 reserved.