Ben Cosgrove
banner
bencosgrove.bsky.social
Ben Cosgrove
@bencosgrove.bsky.social
musician/writer/landscape enthusiast // i have played in every state except for delaware

www.bencosgrove.com
Pinned
Hi everyone! For those I haven’t met: I am a traveling piano player who writes instrumental music (and sometimes nonfiction) about landscape, place, and environment. I’ve worked with a bunch of national parks and science organizations and I’ve played >1500 shows in 49 states. Nice to be here!
What a surreal experience it is to actually enjoy reading the news for the first time in a year or so.
November 5, 2025 at 2:01 PM
@lancerichardson.bsky.social spotted in Gainesville, FL! 🐊
November 2, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Hey! I'm very pleased to announce that my sixth studio album, TOPOGRAPH, will be released on 1/30/26. It's got 16 songs on it, each inspired by land-shaping processes observed around the country, and you can preorder it now on CD/vinyl at bencosgrove.com/store
October 22, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Not a bad week in Appalachia 🍂⛰️
September 28, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Driving around in West Virginia for a couple of days really makes you notice how few things the other 49 states have named after Robert C. Byrd.
September 25, 2025 at 2:20 PM
I’ve played in 45 of these cities and have been to all but San Antonio and El Paso! Please book me down there, Texas. 🙏
How many y’all have visited? I’m up to 14
July 31, 2025 at 2:27 AM
Hey, if you're looking for a break from the news, I'm playing a free show on Boston Common this evening. I hope you can swing by! uncommoncorner.org/event/ben-co...
Ben Cosgrove - Emerson College UnCommon Corner
Ben Cosgrove UnCommon Corner, Boylston St &, Tremont St, Boston, MA 02116 Ben Cosgrove is a traveling composer-performer whose music explores themes of landscape, place, and environment. Described by ...
uncommoncorner.org
July 2, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Reposted by Ben Cosgrove
There are way too many things to be upset about these days, but I believe the destruction of public lands should be near the top of the list: www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
Trump to strip protections from millions of acres of national forests
The USDA announced it would begin the process of rolling back protections for nearly 59 million roadless acres of the National Forest system.
www.washingtonpost.com
June 23, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Reposted by Ben Cosgrove
just remembered that wikipedia has a list of fish named after other fish
May 14, 2025 at 8:06 AM
American Promise finishing 8th feels right too
UPDATE: We live in hell
May 4, 2025 at 3:16 AM
Reposted by Ben Cosgrove
God I love stories like this.

'Rhythm Nation' used to crash hard drives.
How a Janet Jackson song crashed laptops for 9 years
In 2001, Microsoft support employees made a shocking discovery: Janet Jackson's hit, "Rhythm Nation," could cause laptops to crash. New details have now come to light showing what was done about it.
www.pcworld.com
May 3, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Guys there's a nonzero chance the next pope is a man named Pierbattista Pizzaballa.
April 22, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Stan Rogers is great, of course, but to me the hero of this song will always be that one constantly yelping guy open.spotify.com/track/1LMJZe...
Northwest Passage
Stan Rogers · Northwest Passage (Remastered) · Song · 1981
open.spotify.com
April 20, 2025 at 12:25 AM
The understanding among most Harvard grads, especially outside of the gov/biz/finance world, is that it’s an extreme faux pas to ever mention it, but today I feel compelled to say that I think what Harvard did today was pretty cool and I’m very proud to have learned things there.
April 15, 2025 at 4:25 AM
If you’ve ever wanted to advertise my name and likeness I have good news! New shirts with original art by the genuinely, singularly great Dan Blakeslee are now available at www.bencosgrove.com/store
April 9, 2025 at 4:04 AM
"Unlike his forefathers, Mr. Musk does have a theory for the assumption of power. That theory is to seize power with the dead robotic hand of the past. It remains for the living to wrest free of that grip."

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/o...
Opinion | The Rise and Fall of Elon Musk
His belief that liberal democracy has failed and that technologists should lead can be traced to the unusual life of his grandfather.
www.nytimes.com
April 4, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Seems just slightly gauche that the URL slug for his NYT obituary is "val-kilmer-dead.html"
April 3, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Reposted by Ben Cosgrove
Excellent work by new NYT headline writer Werner Herzog
March 28, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Every once in a while, I like reminding people of the story of how Barre, VT got its name
March 30, 2025 at 2:26 AM
My friend sent me this graphic a couple days ago and I'm barely exaggerating when I tell you I have not thought about anything else since then.
March 29, 2025 at 5:07 AM
Reposted by Ben Cosgrove
Zeldin says the mission of EPA is to "lower the cost of buying a car, heating a home and running a business." That is false, not as a matter of ideology or political preference, but as a matter of law.

This is pure authoritarian "up is down" stuff.
E.P.A. Targets Dozens of Environmental Rules as It Reframes Its Purpose
Lee Zeldin, the E.P.A. administrator, said the agency’s mission was to make it cheaper to buy cars, heat homes and run businesses.
www.nytimes.com
March 13, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Leaving New England tomorrow for a handful of concerts this month in Wisconsin, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and California — hope you can join!
🎉 New winter/spring tour dates! 🎉 Over the next couple months I'll be heading to Florida, Kansas, California, and a lot of favorite places in between, and I'd love to see you out there.

Ticketing info for each concert is at www.bencosgrove.com/shows -- hope you can make it to one or more! 🎹🚗🏜️🏖️🏔️
March 11, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Doing a cool thing with the wonderful painter Louisa Donelson in my favorite part of Massachusetts tomorrow night. Hope you can join us!
March 7, 2025 at 2:22 AM
Has anyone written an essay about these two cars and the worldviews & imagined futures they reflected 25 years apart?
March 7, 2025 at 2:09 AM