Graham Nash to headline 43rd annual tribute concert for old friend John Lennon at NYC’s Town Hall

NEW YORK — It’s classic rock nirvana for a worthy cause: Graham Nash playing his favorite songs from the Beatles and his old friend John Lennon.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer will perform this Dec. 2 at Town Hall at the 43rd Annual John Lennon Tribute, with Nash joined by an all-star lineup including Roseanne Cash, Judy Collins, Marc Cohen and Rita Coolidge.

Nash will also be honored with the “John Lennon Real Love Award” at the event where the proceeds will fund free workshops for creative expression and a songwriting program that includes 200 free workshops for children and adults impacted by cancer.

“This is a very special award,” said Nash in a statement. “I thank Yoko and the Theater Within for thinking of me. Over many years, I watched John and Yoko ‘fight the good fight’ for many whose voices were not being heard, a fight Yoko continues to this day.

“I’m proud to be associated with the many fine artists who were previously honored with the John Lennon Real Love Award.”

Nash is a two-time Hall of Fame inductee, honored for his work with the Hollies and with bandmates David Crosby and Stephen Stills. His decades-long career included an appearance at Woodstock in 1969 and a performance 20 years later at the Berlin Wall.

The singer-songwriter recently released a new album titled “Now.”

Previous recipients of the Lennon award include Patti Smith, Natalie Merchant and Donovan.

“With its joyful annual John Lennon tribute and John Lennon Real Love Project, Theater Within is furthering the vision that John and I shared for a better world,” said Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono, now 90 years old.

Lennon was killed outside their Upper West Side home in the Dakota on Dec. 8, 1980, as the couple worked on a new album titled “Double Fantasy.”

The annual event remains the only Lennon-related event officially sanctioned by Ono. Organizers said Nash planned to play some of his favorites from Lennon’s solo catalog along with music from the Fab Four during his appearance.