If you have not seen The Simon & Garfunkel Songbook yet, here is the premise: a full band performs Simon & Garfunkel’s catalog with multimedia storytelling and live narration, and the whole thing becomes a sing-along. The production has sold out venues from the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach to Daryl’s House in Pawling, NY. On Sunday, May 17, it comes to Cohoes Music Hall — which, given that the hall has been running since 1874, feels like exactly the right room for it.
The original concept came from Pete Fornatale, the late progressive FM radio pioneer and author of the Simon & Garfunkel Bookends biography. The show is currently narrated and directed by Tony Traguardo, WCWP radio host and co-founder of the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. Plan for about two and a half hours.
Leading the music is Rex Fowler, co-founder of Aztec Two-Step — the folk-rock duo that formed in Boston in 1971, recorded for Elektra and RCA, and toured with Bruce Springsteen and Bonnie Raitt. Alongside him is Dodie Pettit, an original cast member of Broadway’s The Phantom of the Opera, on lead guitar, keyboards, and vocals. The lineup also includes multi-instrumentalist Steven “Muddy” Roues and drummer Peter Hohmeister.
Built in the Second Empire style and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, Cohoes Music Hall is considered the fourth-oldest music hall currently in use in the United States. It sits in downtown Cohoes, just north of Albany, in a Capital District that punches well above its weight for live music. The 450-seat room has the kind of intimacy that makes sense for a show like this.
Logistics: park in the municipal lot at the rear of the building — that is also where the ADA elevator entrance is. Concessions include beverages and alcohol. Box office: 518-434-0776, Tuesday through Friday, 10:00 AM–4:00 PM, with reduced fees for phone orders.
The Simon & Garfunkel Songbook is Sunday, May 17, 2026, at 3:00 PM. Tickets run $29–$45. Buy tickets online or call 518-434-0776.