The influence of politics in music has a long history which predates rock and roll. For at least the last 100 years, it’s been part of the fabric of modern song for some artists.  Many of the artists and their songs can stir something inside you like a call to action. It’s been said we live in divisive times and while that is true, it was also true of much of the sixties and seventies, just to compare.

In early March, I attended shows of two artists whose messages could not be more different. On a Saturday evening, I worked the Aaron Lewis, “Frayed at Both Ends,” acoustic show and the following Tuesday night it was an intimate evening with Graham Nash. If you’re not familiar with either of them, stick with me for a few.

While it’s not unusual for artists to mingle in different genres, Aaron may be the most successful of the hard rock acts to balance two very different sounds. His politics are evident in his country songs and he’s very conservative in his beliefs. His audience that night was a blend of bikers, metalheads and self-proclaimed rednecks. His current hit song, “Am I the Only One? ( https://youtu.be/iQmCIdUBwtc) was released last July 4. It is a song protesting America’s leadership and left-wing activists. His audience was very much in his corner that evening as he played a variety of his country songs. During the show, I recall him delivering his opinion on Lindsay Graham and separately, President Joe Biden. In my opinion, the audience was more riled up than he was; that possibly was due to the large whisky and ice drinks that were readily at hand on stage as were his cigarettes. Several people attempted to get the crowd to chant, “Let’s Go Brandon,” without success. I observed several men sporting t-shirts with the same saying on the front and at least one t-shirt with the image of President Donald Trump in the setting. From my viewpoint, the crowd was loud but reserved in their actions. While several attendees had to be removed for intoxication, in my observation that is par for the course at a rock or country show.

Three days later, we experienced an intimate evening of story and song with Graham Nash, of the seminal rock band Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. For those who were born too late to have an appreciation of their status in rock royalty, they formed in 1969 and made their big splash at Woodstock. They are also members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; Graham was inducted with CSNY and with The Hollies. Throughout his career, Graham has written and sang many war protest songs. He is an unabashed liberal and has expressed his political views throughout his career. At the beginning of his show, he told the audience that he was shaking up his setlist due to the war in Ukraine. Graham took a strong stand in support of Ukraine, a message that was well-received. He started the show with Find the Cost of Freedom, Military Madness, I Used to be a King, and Wasted Along the Way before dedicating Bus Stop, a Hollies classic, to former bandmate Allan Clarke. He and Allen, childhood friends, are working on an album together. The setlist from this point on was a mixture of hits from his solo career as well as CSNY tunes along with some interesting covers. In his second set, he played Chicago, another protest song that chronicled the 1968 Democratic National Convention fiasco.

Aside from the words and songs that reflected how many in the audience were feeling regarding the Ukraine conflict, Graham was subdued in relation to the political zeal that I have seen him exhibit over the years.  He complimented the audience on the SC state flag, which brought cheers from the crowd. His other remark was to, “Thank God for Jim Clyburn.” This remark was the acknowledgment that Mr. Clyburn’s endorsement of Joe Biden helped propel him to his party’s nomination and his election as President. 

Reflecting on these two performers and their shows, several questions came to mind. Aaron and Graham are thirty years apart in age. Has Graham mellowed so much that he has lost some of his fire while Aaron is in his prime and a man on a mission?  Do their audiences come for the message one delivers while the other’s fans come regardless of the message he delivers? Have their roles reversed over the years? Graham was rallying his audience against the government over the years and now Aaron is doing the same but from the other side of the political aisle. The more things change, the more things stay the same.

#aaronlewis #grahamnash #charlestonmusichall #doyoubelievinmagic