Laurel Canyon · Chicago · Bethel · the Fillmore · Wembley
Acoustic set: three names, three stools lit. Push the jack in.
Stills wants another musician so they can be more than an acoustic act live; Ahmet Ertegun suggests Neil Young. From the first night the show came in two halves, acoustic then electric. This page does too.
Laurel Canyon · summer 1968
Nash came from the airport to Joni Mitchell’s house on Lookout Mountain and found the end of a dinner party, with Crosby and Stills there.
Stills played his new song “You Don’t Have to Cry”. Nash asked to hear it again, and on the third time through he sang with them; about a minute in, they stopped and laughed. Graham Nash first sang with David Crosby and Stephen Stills in Laurel Canyon in the summer of 1968.
Where did it happen? Ask each of them.
Laurel Canyon
Somewhere in the canyon
Joni Mitchell’s house was, and is, a private home: the street is named here, the house is not mapped. Pictured: the canyon from a public corner.
Nash’s “Our House” remembers the time he and Joni Mitchell lived together in her Laurel Canyon home. Joni Mitchell’s own canyon years are in her World.
Los Angeles
Live marketplace results for music-history tours of Laurel Canyon and Hollywood. Check each itinerary for the stops it really makes; private homes are seen from the road only.
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Compare tours1969 · two halves of a night
They began with an all-acoustic set led off by “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”, then strapped on electric guitars for a louder second set. The lead below is the same one as at the top of the page: it switches every scene.
Acoustic set: the second halves are waiting for the lead.
Auditorium Theatre · Chicago · 16 August 1969
On stools first, after Joni Mitchell’s set: an all-acoustic half led off by “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”.
The other half is waiting. Plug Young in.
A working theatre. Historic tours go behind the scenes; tickets are sold through AXS.
50 East Ida B. Wells Drive, Chicago · Tickets through AXS
Behind-the-scenes tours of Adler and Sullivan’s 1889 theatre: how it was built, who has played it, and the restored decoration. Private tours by request.
See tour dates
Fillmore East · Fillmore East · 20 September 1969
The late show’s acoustic set, with Nash alone at the organ singing “Our House” to Joni Mitchell, who is in the audience.
The other half is waiting. Plug Young in.
The old entrance is a bank, with photographs of the venue in its lobby. Open in banking hours.
Woodstock festival field, Bethel · 18 August 1969
Second gig. Their performance at the Woodstock Music & Art Fair on Max Yasgur’s farm, in the early hours of 18 August 1969, was only their second gig.
The Museum at Bethel Woods is open daily, 10am to 5pm, 1 April to 31 December. The field is seen on guided cart tours or a self-guided iPad tour, not on show days.
Bethel, New York · Adults $19.69 in advance · $22.69 at the door · ages 6–17 $5
The 1960s museum on the festival site where the group played its second gig. Open daily 10am to 5pm, 1 April to 31 December.
Plan a visitBethel, New York · $19.69
A guided golf-cart tour of the festival field, about 1 hour 15 minutes, Wednesday to Sunday at 10.45am, May to October; not on show days. A self-guided iPad tour costs $10.
Check tour daysDéjà Vu · July to December 1969
The Déjà Vu sessions began in Los Angeles on 15 July 1969 and ended at Wally Heider’s in San Francisco on 28 December.
Wally Heider’s, now Hyde Street Studios
“Almost Cut My Hair” was recorded here on 6 November 1969: Crosby on 12-string electric, Stills and Young on electric guitars, Nash on organ, Dallas Taylor on drums and Greg Reeves on bass.
The whole band played “Almost Cut My Hair” and “Woodstock” live together in the studio. Sessions often ran well past midnight. Wally Heider Recording opened at 245 Hyde Street in 1969. Michael Ward and partners took over in 1980; as Hyde Street Studios it calls itself the longest-running multi-room studio in the Bay Area.
A working studio, not open to visitors. See the front from Hyde Street.
San Francisco
Live marketplace results for walks and drives round San Francisco’s 1960s music history. Check each itinerary for the stops it makes.
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Studio by day, Sunset Sound by night
While the band worked at Wally Heider’s Los Angeles studio by day, Neil Young went to Sunset Sound at night to work on After the Gold Rush.
Sunset Sound is at 6650 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood. After the Gold Rush is in Neil Young’s World.
A working studio that books sessions, not a museum: see the front from Sunset Boulevard.
Under the oak · Novato, Marin County
The Déjà Vu cover was shot under a gnarled oak outside Crosby’s Northern California home in Novato.
Tom Gundelfinger photographed all six players, including Greg Reeves and Dallas Taylor, in clothes from just after the Civil War. The idea was Stills’s. The print, in sepia, was pasted onto dark brown card textured like an old hymnal, with gilt lettering; Gary Burden designed the package.
Atlantic released Déjà Vu on 11 March 1970, with two million copies already ordered by shops.
Crosby’s house was a private home: the town is named here, the house and its tree are not mapped. Pictured: Novato under Mount Burdell.
December 1969 and May 1970
Altamont Speedway · 6 December 1969
The free concert of 6 December 1969 was set to include Santana, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and the Grateful Dead, with the Rolling Stones. The speedway was settled on as the site only on 4 December, two days before.
A silent home movie found at the Library of Congress shows the band taking the stage about eleven minutes in, opening with “Woodstock”. They had been cut from the film Gimme Shelter.
The day ended in violence: 18-year-old Meredith Hunter was killed in front of the stage during the Rolling Stones’ set.
Private land. The old track is not open to the public; the pass is crossed by Interstate 580.
Taylor Hall, Kent State · May 1970
On 4 May 1970 the National Guard killed four people and wounded nine at a protest at Kent State.
Neil Young wrote “Ohio”, and the group recorded it two weeks after the shootings. They cut it live at the Record Plant in Los Angeles on 21 May, in three or four takes, and mixed it that night.
The visitors center’s ten-minute film includes footage of the shooting; viewer discretion is advised. The song’s own story is told in Neil Young’s World.
The May 4 Visitors Center, room 147 in Taylor Hall, is free: in term, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm and Saturday 1pm to 5pm; closed on university breaks.
Kent, Ohio · Free
Galleries and a ten-minute film in room 147, Taylor Hall. In term, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm and Saturday 1pm to 5pm; closed on university breaks.
Plan a visitKent, Ohio · Book direct · rates on the hotel site
The university’s hotel at 215 South Depeyster Street, a walk from Taylor Hall. A renovation runs from October 2026 to spring 2027; the hotel says it stays fully open.
See rooms
1970 to 1974
The 1974 reunion tour of stadiums, with Joni Mitchell, The Band, the Beach Boys, Santana and Joe Walsh on various dates, ends at Wembley.
72,000official estimate
£3.50a ticket
10 hoursthe whole day
3½ hoursthe group’s set
Wembley Stadium · September 1974
The Guardian gave the official estimate as 72,000 people, each paying £3.50 for a ten-hour show with The Band and Joni Mitchell.
The 1974 reunion tour, dubbed the “Doom Tour”, ended with a show at Wembley Stadium. The group played for about three and a half hours, relaxed, with no stage show; the review found the sound close to flawless.
The old stadium has been replaced by the new one with the arch. Stadium tours go into areas usually kept for players and performers.
Wembley, London · Prices on the booking site
Tours of the new stadium into areas usually kept for the biggest names in sport and music; VIP and group tours too.
See tours
The Forum, Inglewood · June 1970
Shows here from 26 to 28 June 1970 were recorded for the live album 4 Way Street.
4 Way Street came out on Atlantic in 1971. Shows here from 2 to 7 June 1970 were recorded for 4 Way Street.
Still an arena: you get in with a ticket to a show.
Sunset Sound · 2024
In 2024 Stills and Young mixed the original eight-track tapes of their Fillmore East show here with John Hanlon.
Young said the mix used the analogue echo chamber, no digital echo. The tapes came out as Live at Fillmore East, 1969 on 25 October 2024.
A working studio that books sessions, not a museum: see the front from Sunset Boulevard.
Linked Worlds: Joni Mitchell · Neil Young
9 places you can visit, from Sunset Boulevard to Wembley. Joni Mitchell’s Laurel Canyon house and Crosby’s Novato home are private: named, never mapped.
Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working studio that books sessions, not a museum: see the front from Sunset Boulevard.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Still an arena: you get in with a ticket to a show.
6650 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood
Sunset Sound is at 6650 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood.
A working studio that books sessions, not a museum: see the front from Sunset Boulevard.
3900 West Manchester Boulevard, Inglewood
Shows here from 26 to 28 June 1970 were recorded for the live album 4 Way Street.
Still an arena: you get in with a ticket to a show.
Stay
A hotel a block from the Auditorium Theatre, and the university’s own hotel at Kent.
South Loop, Chicago · Book direct · today’s rates on the hotel site
Built in 1893 for visitors to the World’s Columbian Exposition, at 520 South Michigan Avenue, a block from the Auditorium Theatre where Young first played with the group. Book direct; no resort fees.
See roomsKent, Ohio · Book direct · rates on the hotel site
The university’s hotel at 215 South Depeyster Street, a walk from Taylor Hall. A renovation runs from October 2026 to spring 2027; the hotel says it stays fully open.
See roomsGo there
The Auditorium, Bethel’s museum and field, the May 4 Visitors Center, Wembley, and tours of Laurel Canyon, San Francisco and the East Village.
50 East Ida B. Wells Drive, Chicago · Tickets through AXS
Behind-the-scenes tours of Adler and Sullivan’s 1889 theatre: how it was built, who has played it, and the restored decoration. Private tours by request.
See tour datesBethel, New York · Adults $19.69 in advance · $22.69 at the door · ages 6–17 $5
The 1960s museum on the festival site where the group played its second gig. Open daily 10am to 5pm, 1 April to 31 December.
Plan a visitBethel, New York · $19.69
A guided golf-cart tour of the festival field, about 1 hour 15 minutes, Wednesday to Sunday at 10.45am, May to October; not on show days. A self-guided iPad tour costs $10.
Check tour daysKent, Ohio · Free
Galleries and a ten-minute film in room 147, Taylor Hall. In term, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm and Saturday 1pm to 5pm; closed on university breaks.
Plan a visitWembley, London · Prices on the booking site
Tours of the new stadium into areas usually kept for the biggest names in sport and music; VIP and group tours too.
See toursLos Angeles
Live marketplace results for music-history tours of Laurel Canyon and Hollywood. Check each itinerary for the stops it really makes; private homes are seen from the road only.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursSan Francisco
Live marketplace results for walks and drives round San Francisco’s 1960s music history. Check each itinerary for the stops it makes.
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Compare toursNew York
Live marketplace results for rock and folk walking tours of downtown Manhattan. Check each itinerary for Second Avenue.
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Compare toursWhat’s on
The group no longer plays; check the venues’ own calendars.
No current dated events are listed. Check providers for the latest programme.
Take it home
Graham Nash’s memoir, the authorised biography, and records made in these places.
Graham Nash
Graham Nash’s own story, from the Hollies to Laurel Canyon and after.
Find the bookDave Zimmer
By the writer of the Library of Congress essay on Déjà Vu.
Find the bookCrosby, Stills, Nash & Young · LP, Atlantic, 1970
Finished at Wally Heider’s in San Francisco; the cover shot under the Novato oak.
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Find a copyCrosby, Stills, Nash & Young · 2LP, Atlantic, 1971
Taped at the Fillmore East, the Forum and the Chicago Auditorium in 1970.
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Find a copyCrosby, Stills, Nash & Young · CD, Rhino, 2024
The late show of 20 September 1969, mixed at Sunset Sound in 2024.
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Find a copyCrosby, Stills, Nash & Young · 3CD + DVD, Rhino, 2014
The stadium tour of 1974, on record at last.
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Find a copyDates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.
Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.
11 of 11 places · 20 of 20 Moments
Lookout Mountain Avenue, Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles
Nash, looking for more creative freedom, sings with Crosby and Stills for the first time.
Stills sings “You Don’t Have to Cry”; Nash asks for it twice more and joins in, and they stop to laugh.
Stills says Cass Elliot’s kitchen; Nash and Crosby say Joni Mitchell’s living room.
6650 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood
Young slips away to Sunset Sound at night to work on After the Gold Rush.
Stills and Young mix the 1969 Fillmore tapes at Sunset Sound, with the studio’s echo chamber.
3900 West Manchester Boulevard, Inglewood
Three nights at the Forum go onto 4 Way Street too.
245 Hyde Street, Tenderloin, San Francisco
Sessions begin in Los Angeles in July and end at Wally Heider’s in San Francisco on 28 December.
All six players cut Crosby’s song together at Heider’s in San Francisco.
Novato, Marin County, California
Tom Gundelfinger photographs the six players in old clothes under an oak outside Crosby’s home.
Déjà Vu is released with two million copies already ordered.
Altamont Pass, Alameda County, California
The band plays the free concert, opening with “Woodstock”.
50 East Ida B. Wells Drive, Chicago
Stills wants another musician so they can be more than an acoustic act live; Ahmet Ertegun suggests Neil Young.
Young’s first show with the group: an acoustic set, then an electric one, after Joni Mitchell.
200 Hurd Road, Bethel, New York
Their second gig, in the early hours, on Max Yasgur’s farm.
105 Second Avenue, at East 6th Street, East Village, New York
Their fourth show in two days at the Fillmore East is taped on eight tracks.
Nash sings “Our House” alone at the organ for Joni Mitchell, who is in the audience.
The Fillmore East shows of June 1970 are taped for 4 Way Street.
300 Midway Drive, Kent, Ohio
Two weeks after the Kent State shootings, they record Young’s “Ohio” live in a few takes.
Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London
The 1974 reunion tour of stadiums, with Joni Mitchell, The Band, the Beach Boys, Santana and Joe Walsh on various dates, ends at Wembley.
An official 72,000 at £3.50 each for a ten-hour day; the group plays for three and a half hours.
