Thank you Nick de la Canal and WFAE for the story feature about John Tosco, Tosco Music's founder and Executive Director. See the full story feature and listen to the audio here.

WFAE | By Nick de la Canal
Published October 3, 2024 at 12:26 PM EDT

Plenty of people consider themselves Beatles fans, but only one man has been organizing Beatles tribute concerts in Charlotte for the past 20 years.

His name is John Tosco, and this past Tuesday night he was leading a small crowd inside The Evening Muse in NoDa in a Beatles sing-a-long at the start of open mic night.

The crowd of about 40 people sways back and forth. Heads bob and feet tap.

Tosco strums the guitar with his whole body, his eyes squinting and his mouth turned up in a smile. Then, after everyone’s warmed up, he introduces the acts one by one.

That night, there were two high school cello players, a 74-year-old guitarist and a teenage rock band. The biggest applause of the night went to an 8-year-old girl belting "Part of Your World," from "The Little Mermaid."

From the side of the stage, Tosco watches with glimmering eyes. He gives every performer a high five when they finish.

"I mean, the open mic is so, so cool, because you never know who’s going to show up," he said.

Growing up in Fayetteville, Tosco fell hard for The Beatles
Music has been a part of Tosco’s life for as long as he can remember. He was born in Tokyo, Japan, where his father, a U.S. Army officer, was stationed. By 1960, his family moved to Fayetteville.

"My earliest memory is actually seeing The Beatles on 'The Ed Sullivan Show,' when I was 5 and a half," he said.

Soon after, he remembers playing cardboard guitars with his neighbor.
"We would put on the 45 'She Loves You,' and we would be looking in the mirror and singing along with the record like we were The Beatles, too. Like so many other people I’m sure — so many kids," he said.

As he grew older, Tosco picked up the guitar and joined a country rock band. He even played at The Grand Ole Opry.

But when his son was born in 1983, he settled down in Charlotte and began hosting living-room jam sessions.

"It became sort of a regular thing, that, ‘John Tosco’s having another music party at his home,'" he recalled.

And the parties got to be really popular.

"We had gone from my home to someone who had a bigger home, to someone who had an apartment clubhouse," he said.

By the mid-'90s, Tosco was renting out venues, charging covers and booking artists.

Today's Tosco Music Parties fill the Knight Theater in uptown four times a year with national acts, local acts, and a house band. Most shows don’t have a theme, but one show every year is dedicated to The Beatles.

In 2019, he expanded the Beatles show into a two-day multi-show event called FabFest, which takes place this weekend.

Willow Dixon, 8, received the biggest applause of the night for her rendition of "Part of Your World" from "The Little Mermaid," with her older sister Jayla Dixon, 16, accompanying on the guitar.

For Tosco, sing-a-longs are a signature move
Tosco starts every show the same way he starts his open mics: with an audience sing-a-long.

"A lot of this came out of me not wanting to be the only one singing. You know, I was like, 'All right, we’re gonna play this song. Sing with me everybody!'" he said, laughing. "It kind of started that way."

But he also realized it gets the audience to let their guard down.
"I realized this is an amazing way for people to connect. It’s very much like in church, you know?" he added.

Even after four decades of hosting music parties, Tosco has no plans to slow down. He now runs a nonprofit providing music scholarships and organizing sing-a-longs at retirement communities.

"I’m in a place now where I realize this is bigger than me," he said. "It’s not about me. It’s something that really, in a way — because it’s been so organic and such a grassroots effort — it’s really taken on a life of its own. And I’m in awe of that really, and I’m grateful for it."

You can see it on his face, smiling, shining and lost in the music.

Tosco Music’s annual FabFest takes place Oct. 4-5 with a Beatles Tribute on Friday, Oct. 4, at 7:30 p.m. at Knight Theater, followed by daytime activities from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, at CPCC's Parr Center, and a concert with Paul McCartney look-alike/sound-alike Tony Kishman on Saturday at 8 p.m. at Knight Theater.

All images by Nick de la Canal / WFAE:
On the first Tuesday of every month, John Tosco hosts an open mic night at The Evening Muse on North Davidson Street.

John Tosco introduces singer and guitarist Matthew Alexander at an open mic night at The Evening Muse on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024.

Willow Dixon, 8, received the biggest applause of the night for her rendition of "Part of Your World" from "The Little Mermaid," with her older sister Jayla Dixon, 16, accompanying on the guitar.


Nick de la Canal is an on air host and reporter covering breaking news, arts and culture, and general assignment stories. His work frequently appears on air and online. Periodically, he tweets: @nickdelacanal