84 | SEPTEMBER 14 • 2023 

A

fter a distinguished 30-year 
journalism career as “Martin F. 
Kohn,” the former Detroit Free 
Press feature writer, editor and film critic 
has embraced a satisfying new identity. Just 
call him Marty the Musician.
Playing acoustic guitar and singing, 
Marty performs around town as a solo act 
or duo with his wife, Laura Kohn. After 
releasing four solo CDs and one with 
Laura, a highlight for Marty in his second 
act will be the launch on Sunday, Sept. 17, 
of his first extended play (EP) record, New 
Year’s Eve Waltz. He will perform songs from 
the EP as well as others in his repertoire 
at Berkley Coffee & Oak Park Dry in Oak 
Park. (See box.)
Originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., Marty 
grew up listening to all kinds of music on 
the radio. The genres he liked included 
rock ’n’ roll, jazz, rhythm and blues, 
“ethnic music — Yiddish, Irish and 
Chinese — from various FM stations,” 
and the Metropolitan Opera on Saturdays. 
He also enjoyed original Broadway cast 
albums, an interest encouraged by his non-
musician parents, Philip and Bertha Kohn, 
who took their only child to see popular 
shows. He said The Music Man and My Fair 
Lady stand out for him.
Marty picked up the guitar on his 16th 

birthday — “seven or eight years after I 
asked for and received a different birthday 
present: permission to quit piano lessons.” 
His first musical love was bluegrass. 
He enjoyed such artists as Pete Seeger, 
Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, Tom Paxton, 
Jim Kweskin and Mississippi John Hurt. 
Like others of his Boomer generation, he 
also was influenced by the music of Joni 
Mitchell and Bob Dylan.
These days, Marty “concentrates on 
playing ragtime guitar and writing my own 
songs.”
His lyrics have been published in 
American Songwriter and Light Poetry 
magazines. In 2021, he won third prize 
in the inaugural Detroit’s Big Shot Talent 
Competition held at 

Planet Ant in Hamtramck. As a journalist, 
Marty’s articles and reviews have appeared 
in publications that include Entertainment 
Weekly, Parents Magazine, American Theatre, 
Humanities and National Geographic.
Marty’s higher education in New York 
included earning a bachelor’s degree 
at Brooklyn College and a master’s in 
journalism at Syracuse University. He left 
his position at the Providence (R.I.) Journal 
to take a feature-writing position at the 
Detroit Free Press (affectionately called 
the Freep) in July 1977. Marty gained a 
following for his regular “Family Fare” 
column, writing with warmth and humor 
about the outings he took with his children. 
The girls got to be known, too. The Freep 
compiled Marty’s columns into two books, 
Family Fare and Family Fare 2: A Guide to Fun 
In and Around Michigan.
Their parents exposed the Kohn kids 

ARTS&LIFE
MUSIC

Marty Kohn will launch his first EP 
Sept. 17 at Berkley Coffee.
Marty the Musician

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Details
MARTY KOHN’S EP LAUNCH
3-5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17
Berkley Coffee & Oak Park Dry
14661 W. 11 Mile Road, Oak Park
(248) 565-8114
berkleycoffee.com
Admission by donation

Marty Kohn 
on the 
guitar

PHOTOS BY MARK FRANKEL