Stephen Stills & Graham Nash Reunite To Perform With Dawes At FireAid

Dawes participated in the FireAid benefit concert supporting Los Angeles wildfire relief efforts held last night at the Kia Forum outside Los Angeles. The band was joined by legendary former bandmates Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, who last performed together in 2016.

Dawes co-founders – brothers Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith – were among the thousands impacted by the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. Taylor’s home studio was destroyed and his house damaged, while Griffin, who is expecting a child soon, lost his entire home. Dawes kicked off their FireAid set with a fitting performance of “Time Spent In Los Angeles” from their 2011 studio album Nothing Is Wrong.

Stephen Stills was then summoned and he arrived onstage with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell. Stills and Campbell led Dawes through a performance of “For What It’s Worth” by Stills’ old band Buffalo Springfield.

Graham Nash then came out to join Dawes and his former Crosby, Stills & Nash bandmate. CSN broke up in 2015 (David Crosby died in 2023) and according to Rolling Stone, Stills and Nash have only performed together once since then, at the 2016 funeral for engineer Stanley Johnston.

“So pleased to be here,” Nash said upon taking the stage. “Particularly with the great band Dawes. And my partner for so many years, Stephen Stills. You know, there is a very large community here in Los Angeles made up of many, many musicians. Whenever Los Angeles gets into trouble, the musicians are right there and I’m proud to be one of them.”

Stills, Nash and Dawes played the CSNY classic “Teach Your Children.” The song made its live debut at a rare Stills & Nash duo concert held on October 25, 1969 at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. Dawes guitarist Trevor Menear was tasked with replicating the signature pedal steel guitar part originally played by Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia.

Along with the Goldsmith brothers, the Dawes lineup at FireAid was rounded out by keyboardist Adam MacDougall and bassist Z Lynch. Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith also sang backup during Joni Mitchell’s FireAid performance of “Both Sides Now.”

Visit the FireAid website to donate directly to the Los Angeles wildfires recovery efforts. Watch Stills and Nash reunite with support from Dawes at last night’s FireAid concert below (Dawes’ set begins at 1:04:38):