The Substack Jukebox đ”đ¶đ”
A 7 year old plays Chopin, watch a Flash Mob, listen to Big Head Todd, and 1000 musicians play together! Turn it up!
The Substack Jukebox 5/18/2026
I try to find music and artists outside of the mainstream and new versions of your favorites, with a little backstory on the work.
Send us what you love and weâll try to share them! Thanks for listening and turn it up!
âMusic is the explosive expression of humanity.â â Billy Joel
Julien Cohenâs Flash Mob
Guys! I got goosebumps watching this!
Youâve heard of Flash Mobs, right? Iâve seen a couple online, but never in person. This performance happened in Paris last September. The person responsible is the French pianist Julien Cohen. At just 33 years old, Julien has earned notoriety with his spontaneous street performances, transforming public spaces into spur of the moment concert venues. Here are thirty musicians and singers who emerge out of seemingly nowhere to perform one of Queens most loved songs. And the guitar player is ELEVEN years old. đł
In less than 24 hours, this had over 30 million views across TikTok and Instagram and since then has been viewed over 600 million times. Watch the faces on the crowd⊠I would have loved to have been there! Amazing! đ
If you havenât heard of Big Head Todd and the Monsters, why? Theyâve been around for 40 years! Their album, âSister Sweetlyâ, went platinum in 1993. Iâve loved them forever and seen them twice in concert. (Here they are performing live at Red Rocks, a venue which is on my bucket list.) Theyâre so easy to listen to.
Todd Park Mohr is Big Head Todd and he started the band with his friends from Columbine High School in Colorado. Big Head was a nickname that stuck, and the âMonstersâ was inspired by a poster of King Kong in Toddâs basement. (Now you know!) They still play an aggressive touring schedule to devoted fans who like their âblues drenched rock and roll.â (This is ideal for your Porch Play list, right Tess!?) Turn it up!
Rockinâ 1000.
Imagine bringing a thousand musicians together to play a song. Rockinâ 1000 is a musical project that started in Cesena, Italy, founded by Fabio Zaffagnini. One thousand musicians got together to perform âLearn to Flyâ as a way to lure the Foo Fighters to perform there. And it worked! I stumbled up on this video and was really intrigued.
Learn more about how they accomplish this feat here.
Now, Rockinâ 1000 is known as the biggest rock band on earth with performances in Cesena (Italy), Paris, Frankfurt, SĂŁo Paulo, Madrid, and Seoul. Their U.S. debut took place at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on January 31, 2026. Itâs very entertaining and the energy is off the charts!
Olivia Li is only 7 years old. And her talent is breathtaking. She began studying piano at age four! Sheâs performed at Carnegie Hall and has a full scholarship to the Curtis Institute of Music in my favorite city, Philadelphia! She is the youngest student ever accepted there! Young talent like this gives me hope for the human race!
I hope you heard something to add to your playlist! What are you listening to? Send us your music so we can share new work!
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Thanks for spending time with me here⊠you guys are awesome. There are almost 4000 of you now, so thank you for being a part of it! đ
Have a great week and donât forget to come back for Photo Friday, where Iâll share some images Iâve taken! đž
Julien Cohenâs Flash Mob wow simply wow Susan what a treat it was watching and listening to this. Absolutely brilliant.
Well, that was a crazy musical production! Awesome!!!