Demonstrating an energy level a man half his 78 years would be hard-pressed to match, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Richie Furay tore through a blistering two-hour set Friday, April 8th at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. With a setlist drawing from his days in Buffalo Springfield, Poco, and The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band plus solo work, Furay left no doubt that the oft-overlooked compatriot of Stephen Stills and Neil Young during Buffalo Springfield’s brief, turbulent tenure was, and is, a major artist in his own right.

With all due respect to Gram Parsons, Furay has as strong a claim as any artist to making country-rock a viable genre. He has long been a woefully underrated songwriter, possessing a gift for constructing sturdy melodies and lyrics from, and for, the heart. Furay’s only flaw is having been too nice to be a rock star, putting on no airs and presenting no image aside from who he is: an affable family man who happens to be a world-class tunesmith.

A combination of trusted side musicians and a San Diego-based top-flight band superbly supported Furay’s cause on the evening. The latter was recommended to him by a friend who provided some solid harmonica on a few songs. The band had all elements working. Unimpeachable ensemble and solo playing plus strong backing vocals provided a perfect foundation for whichever song Furay pulled out of his catalog. Furay’s daughter Jesse Furay Lynch provided beautiful harmony and, on a couple of songs, lead vocals.

In addition to the aforementioned energy, Furay’s warm tenor showed no hint of losing its top end or timber. No lowering of song keys or mushing out tunes to reduce the strain showed itself throughout the evening’s entirety. Furay managed the neat trick of putting out maximum effort while making it seem like an effortless, graceful exhibition.

Furay’s song catalog is as rich as it is lengthy. Be it “Kind Woman” from the final Buffalo Springfield album, “A Good Feelin’ to Know” from the Poco days, “Fallin’ in Love” from the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band era, or “We Were the Dreamers” from his 2015 solo album Hand in Hand, Furay is unfailingly melodic and straightforward, emphasizing finesse over flash.

Furay frequently chatted with the audience in-between songs, covering topics such as his marriage of 55 years (his wife Nancy was in attendance) and recent losses of musical compatriots Tom Stipe, who was part of the Richie Furay Band, plus Rusty Young and Paul Cotton, each of whom was in Poco. To honor Cotton and Young, Furay performed an achingly beautiful medley of Cotton’s “Bad Weather” and Young’s “Crazy Love.”

Furay is unafraid to express his faith — he has been an outspoken Christian since the mid-‘70s — or his love of country and unapologetic conservatism. He acknowledged the former both during in-between song conversation and with a song as Furay performed “Wake Up My Soul” from In My Father’s House, one of his wholly Christian efforts. The latter came out in “America, America,” with its blunt lyrics:

America, America
God shed Your grace, please do
Wake up, wake up our sleeping soul
Before we hear the bells that toll

My heart is breaking
Watching the world turn upside down
Seeing our Nation
Hurting in the grasp while burning to the ground
Though history sure has warned us
When you take your eyes off God
There ain’t nothing to fall back on
Though some would say that’s odd

Time makes you wonder
Is there a point of no return
Have we crossed that line forever
What lessons have we learned
Is there hope still in the future
Is there a hope beyond all hope,
Well, I know there is an answer
But we’re going down a slippery slope

While Furay has retired from major touring — after all, he is 78 — he still plays the occasional show. Should one be within walking, driving, flying, or teleporting distance, by all means, go if you can and if you can’t, go anyway. I have seen hundreds of concerts over the decades. No exaggeration. I have never left one so enriched as gifted by Richie Furay and cohorts. Again, no exaggeration. The music and performance were each that good. It will be tough listening to anything else for quite some time.