Photo: Jefferson Santos
There has been a sort of “boom” in 60s culture, driven primarily by some of the movement’s referents, such as the great Graham Nash, who last Wednesday gave a brilliant concert to a sold-out crowd at The Old Whaling Church in Martha’s Vineyard, creating an impressive wave of reproductions of his songs and some other artists like Tom Rush and many others.
Many experts believe that this is a clear indication that not only are the 1960s still alive, but that the amazing singers who emerged from that decade are quite present not only in American culture, but in most of the world, as there has been an increase reported on streaming platforms in terms of listeners of this music. Maybe it is nostalgia for some, but for others it is a feeling of youth that certainly comes back in every song, word, and melody, as a sort of time machine that transports them to a better time.
Regardless of the reason for listening to it, the fact is that this era marked a lot of people and, of course, their descendants, since it’s quite common for fathers to make their sons listen to the music they adore, and quite often it ends up taking up on them and maybe passing down another generation. For some of the critics of today music it´s “only natural that proven and artistic music as the 60´s take over what it´s being produced today”.
It´s hard to establish if a single impressive concert might change a “tendency” and create a great movement towards the 60´s music, but what it´s clear is that the presence of this music is more and more present in social media, such as TikTok and Instagram, two of the most popular amongst young people, marking that this movement it´s not only a “boomer” thing as most young people would say, but rather a more current wave.
A series of concerts on “the Island”
The American island of Martha´s Vineyard has been the setting for some of the best concerts the 60´s music can offer in the last months. There´s also a great agenda of musicians that will be passing with their music through the island, leaving behind nothing else than great memories and that feeling of youth that characterized an era were rebellion and social critic was the main movement. It was the decade when the original Woodstock took place, and of course, the Vietnam War marked a whole generation that said “no to war”.
And the accomplished British song-writer Graham William Nash is one of the best examples of that movement, inspiring hundreds of thousands with his folk rock style, a type of music that related him to some great names like the Pink Floyd lead guitarist and great musician, David Gilmour, and bands like The Hollies and Crosby, amongst many others. He is honored with the Order of the British Empire. His presence at home is also quite important. He is known for his interest in promoting young British singers and royalty-free music creators alike.
In such an impressive setting as The Old Whaling Church, Graham Nash took the best out of his “arsenal” to shine for thousands of listeners who vibed to every song he performed, including one of the Beatles’ best, “A Day in Life”, giving his blues and folk imprint to an already great song. He also used the occasion to call for Ukraine and the war there, trying to raise awareness of the refugee crisis and performing one of his friend’s songs, “Military Madness”, a single by Crosby that relates quite deeply to what is going on there.
Of course, there was nothing else but cheering after he left the stage, after playing songs like “Our House,” one of his best-selling singles and still one of his most played songs on Spotify. But of course, the main point of the concert was when he played “A Case of You”, the greatest hit of one of the loves of his life, Ms. Joni Mitchell, who recently suffered a brain aneurysm and forced her to start learning how to sing and play the guitar again.
He chose to close the ceremony with some inspiring words that really resonated with the audience. He referred to the war in Ukraine and his political views, alluding to British resilience. “But you see, I’m English,” he told the audience. “And we made it through two world wars. I promise you, no matter how [bad] it gets out there, we’ll make it through.” Of course, there were nothing but tears in many of the faces of the audience as the curtain went down, and his music rooted deep in those who didn’t know him.
He last performed on Martha’s Vineyard in 2017, so this was clearly a welcome return for many Americans who adore his music and wished he would return. It was clearly a great way to “close the summer” for many people there, leaving them with an inspiring setting and words about what is to come for human kind and their children.
