Review: David Crosby Exceptional at the Ridgefield Playhouse

I would guess almost everyone who's passionate about music has a favorite artist of all time. My favorite artist recently played the Ridgefield Playhouse.

My guy is David Crosby known mostly for his work with Crosby, Stills, and Nash and the Byrds. How David Crosby is still alive is almost a miracle and if you ask him, Crosby will tell you the same thing. David began snorting cocaine in the early '70's which led to smoking crack cocaine in the mid-'70's which eventually led to freebasing coke until he hit rock bottom in March of 1986 when he was sentenced to 5 months in prison, not to mention a liver transplant in 1994.

Being in prison sobered him right up and now he's all about writing new songs and making new albums with musicians that he personally hand-picks. His performance at the Ridgefield Playhouse was nothing short of outstanding. The setlist included new songs from his 'Sky Trails' album along with select tracks from his CSN library like 'Deja Vu,' 'Wooden Ships,' along with the encore, 'Ohio' that absolutely brought the soldout Ridgefield Playhouse audience to its feet as Crosby encouraged us all to sing along and sing we did!

David has always been critical of corrupt and lazy politicians. He is certainly not a Trump supporter but told us he still loves this country and always will and then he and his band launched into this tune which brought tears to my eyes.

The man is 76 years old but on the evening of June 12, 2018, at the Ridgefield Playhouse, his voice mellowed a bit with age still rang true to his lead vocals on the song, 'Wooden Ships' from CSN's debut album in 1970.

David surrounds himself with amazing vocalists, players, and singer/songwriters when he tours which helps turn his prolific songs into works of art. The band is simply stellar!

** Jeff Pevar - Lead guitarist/Vocalist who's worked with Ray Charles, CSN, James Taylor, Joe Cocker, Meatloaf, Phil Collins and the list goes on...

** James Raymond - Keyboards/Vocals/Producer and Crosby's son...

** Steve DiStanislao - Drummer - Works with Crosby when he's not on tour with David Gilmour.

** Michelle Willis - A notable singer/songwriter in her own right and performs the stunning high vocal harmonies in David's 'Sky Trails' band plus adds keyboard support...

** Mai Agan - David Crosby's 30-year-old bassist from Estonia who's also worked with Jackson Browne...