A standard joke in aviation circles is that there are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old bold pilots. In popular music, much the same applies. There are old bold artists, but it seldom works well, if at all. Few things are more embarrassing than watching a musical entertainer in the autumn (or later) of their years attempting to command the stage via prancing about like the young lions they once were. Aging gracefully is an art few artists have accomplished.
Fortunately for us, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Richie Furay has mastered the art of not only preserving the superb tunesmanship and energetic presentation that has been his stock in trade since first coming to public attention with Buffalo Springfield in the mid-1960s but doing so without diluting the power and purpose behind his message as an unabashed Christian and patriot.
Making one of his occasional jaunts from his Colorado home, the 79-year-old Furay played two shows in Southern California on April 19 and 20. At the first show, held at a large club in San Juan Capistrano, Furay’s backing came from a full band. The next night’s concert transpired in a small theater on the Pepperdine University campus in Malibu, the intimate atmosphere providing a perfect backdrop for an acoustic set in which Furay was accompanied solely by his daughter Jessie Lynch on harmony plus occasional lead vocal and Dan Skarda on second guitar plus harmony vocal.
Focusing on Jessie Lynch for a moment, a quote from a February 2023 concert review suggests itself.
Along with providing impeccable harmony vocals for her father, she took the lead vocal twice, showcasing a powerful but not overpowering voice. In a world littered with cookie-cutter wannabe cutie “country” singers churning out generic recipe pop disguised as country, Lynch is the real deal. Additionally, she is a striking beauty who dresses modestly and makes no suggestive moves on stage. To parents of daughters aspiring to be singers, Lynch is the role model you want.
While the full band show was overtly more energetic, both featured several common threads. Furay is living rock‘n’roll history, from his time alongside Stephen Stills and Neil Young in the short-lived yet seminal folk/rock ensemble Buffalo Springfield to his time as a founding member and leader of the pioneering country/rock group Poco, which paved the way for its contemporaries (and occasional poachers of Poco bass players), the Eagles.
In between most songs, Furay related stories of their coming together alongside frank observations of his personal life, focusing on how accepting Jesus into his life in the 1970s set the stage for a lengthy stint as a pastor, far removed from his days angrily pursuing musical fame regardless of cost. Furay’s faith still burns bright, and he makes no apologies for sharing it regardless of the concert setting.
Each show was replete with numerous tunes covering Furay’s career from Buffalo Springfield:
Poco:
And the Souther ＊ Hillman ＊ Furay Band.
There was also a touch of melancholy. Furay talked with strong emotion about the passing away earlier in April 2024 of his longtime manager, David Stone, along with the 2021 deaths of Poco members Paul Cotton and Rusty Young. He saluted the latter with a gorgeous medley of their songs.
Furay broke out the full-throttle patriotism near evening’s end.
The song was warmly received by the audience at both shows, thus proving that yes, Virginia (and all the other states), there are conservatives in California.
The shows come as Furay is winding down the live performance element of his career. While still energetic throughout both shows, he is 79 and has more than earned the right to stay home from now on. If these were his final California performances, Furay left the Golden State with head held high, a lion in autumn who has lost none of his roar.
