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

"Our folks loved you. How fascinating!" - Susan Ray, Assistant Director, Beekman Library

“The Migrant Mother” drops the listeners down into the impoverished California pea farms of the Great Depression, while “Chang and Eng” tells the unbelievable story behind the original Siamese twins' journey to the American dream. The amusing “Cardiff Giant Hoax” sends the audience walking across the farms of Central New York in 1869 where science and religion collide in bizarre fashion,  while the amazing “Robert Smalls” tells the tale of an enslaved man’s plan to steal a Confederate ship during the Civil War. Keep your eyes peeled and you may even see the “Wright Brothers” flying high over Kitty Hawk during America’s first flight or  perhaps stumble into Times Square on VJ Day and see the “Kissing Sailor”. 

“This unique program was enjoyed by all!” ~Tobi Farley, Director, Philmont Public Library

Armed with his guitar, inspiring 4x5 foot photographs, and 20 years as a public school educator, John John Brown shines a light on some of the most interesting Americans who’ve come 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. The program runs an hour long.

Ideal for:

• museums

• universities and colleges

• arts centers

• historical societies

• folk concerts

• libraries

• lecture series

• heritage events

• state and county fairs