2025
John Cohen ~ founding member, friend, and our neighbor down the road.
TOMPKINS CORNERS'
JOHN COHEN MEMORIAL MUSIC SERIES
Tompkins Corners Cultural Center is proud to present the John Cohen Memorial Music Series featuring the highest caliber, multi-genre musicians.
John Cohen co-founded Tompkins Corners in 2014. He was a musician, photographer and filmmaker who performed and documented the traditional music of the rural South and played a major role in the American folk music revival. More about John Cohen
HERE.
This project emanates from the special relationship that existed between John, local musicians, and our broader community which, in our first five years, came to cherish the amazing talent and authenticity of the performers that John brought to Tompkins Corners. Working with John’s friends, Lynette and Geoff Wiley and Eli Smith - owners and leaders of the Jalopy Folk Music Theatre in Brooklyn, we have identified and recruited the very special artists who will participate in this groundbreaking Memorial Series.
One of John's cherished bands is the Down Hill Strugglers, of whom John was a mentor and member. John played with the Strugglers at every Brooklyn Folk Festival since the beginning, as well as at every Washington Square Park Folk Festival and many more all across the country, including at the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center, the Newport Folk Festival, and more. They continue to join us each year.
We welcome new and old favorite musicians; authentic and talented and steeped in American root music. As we’ve been saying, “John would have wanted it that way.”
John Cohen co-founded Tompkins Corners in 2014. He was a musician, photographer and filmmaker who performed and documented the traditional music of the rural South and played a major role in the American folk music revival. More about John Cohen
HERE.
This project emanates from the special relationship that existed between John, local musicians, and our broader community which, in our first five years, came to cherish the amazing talent and authenticity of the performers that John brought to Tompkins Corners. Working with John’s friends, Lynette and Geoff Wiley and Eli Smith - owners and leaders of the Jalopy Folk Music Theatre in Brooklyn, we have identified and recruited the very special artists who will participate in this groundbreaking Memorial Series.
One of John's cherished bands is the Down Hill Strugglers, of whom John was a mentor and member. John played with the Strugglers at every Brooklyn Folk Festival since the beginning, as well as at every Washington Square Park Folk Festival and many more all across the country, including at the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center, the Newport Folk Festival, and more. They continue to join us each year.
We welcome new and old favorite musicians; authentic and talented and steeped in American root music. As we’ve been saying, “John would have wanted it that way.”
* This concert series has been made possible, in part, through the Putnam Arts Council’s Arts Link Grant Program with public funds provided through the NY State Council on the Arts with support from the Office of the Governor and the NY State Legislature.