John John Brown, New York Photosongs
Sunday Sept 13, 2026 at 2pm
Part of the NY Historical Program

Doors open 1:30pm

Admission $20 pre-sale - Buy Now on My River Tickets
Admission $25 at the door

Award winning songwriter John John Brown has set out to educate and entertain with his imaginative new project “New York Photosongs”. At the heart of this exploration are seven original folk songs that tell the amazing true stories behind some of New York State’s most iconic and obscure photographs.

"The audience loved you, and I heard nothing but good things about you after the show." ~Christine Utchel, Head of Adult Services and Programming, Bronxville Public Library

“Conversations Atop a Skyscraper” takes the listener up high beside the grizzled New York City ironworkers of the Great Depression, while “Queen of the Mist” brings us to Annie Edson Taylor’s 1901 plummet over Niagara Falls in a barrel. The amusing “Cardiff Giant Hoax” sends the audience across the farms of Central New York in 1869 where science and religion collide in bizarre fashion, while the humorous “Georgie” gives us a peek at the infamous Lake George Monster. Keep your eyes peeled and you may even walk down the vermine filled alleyways of early 1900’s New York City and feel the “Rat Catcher Blues” or perhaps stumble into Times Square on VJ Day and see the “Kissing Sailor”.

“Fascinating and compelling!”~ Alice Schaefer, President, ACMA “This unique program was enjoyed by all!” ~Tobi Farley, Director, Philmont Public Library

Armed with his guitar, inspiring 4x5 foot photographs, and 15 years as a public school educator, John John Brown shines a light on some of the most interesting New Yorkers who’ve walked before us. In a world that often moves too fast, Brown reminds us that there is still something powerful in a great story, something mysterious in an old photograph, and something meaningful in American folk music. At the bare minimum, “New York Photosongs” is a one of a kind hour long program guaranteeing to entertain and inform listening audiences near and far.