Marc Cohn admits his concerts might be a "connection to the past" for his audience members -- remembering where they were when they first heard "Walkin' in Memphis" or when "True Companion" played at their wedding.
"For me, it's less about the past and more about the moment," says the Grammy winning singer/songwriter, who has been performing since the 1970s. "I'm always trying to bring it up to the moment and stay in the moment -- to transform the songs in some way, not re-create a record.
FAQ
Marc Cohn
In Concert
WHEN — 8 p.m. April 24
WHERE — Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville
COST — $27-$47
INFO — 443-5600
"That's not what interests me. Live music should be real music."
Cohn has, in his own words, been "obsessed" with pop music for as long as he can remember. Because he grew up listening to his older brother's band rehearse in the basement, he heard a smorgasbord of the best of the 1960s -- "Bacharach, The Beatles, Ray Charles and Motown" -- and he knew from the beginning that "pop" meant popular, not necessarily disposable.
"'Bridge Over Troubled Water' was a pop album -- and also transcendent art," says Cohn. "To be dismissive of pop music is to be a little misinformed.
"The music that interests me is the music that moves me," he adds. "Your perceptions of music change, the importance changes -- I'm 55 now, and I'm not obsessed with music -- but to an impressionable 11- or 12- or 18-year-old, it can be what inspires them."
-- Becca Martin-Brown
bmartin@nwadg.com
NAN What's Up on 04/17/2015