New Hope To Celebrate And Remember Renowned Music Club Owner

NEW HOPE BOROUGH, PA — During what is expected to be a memorable night, New Hope will join together to celebrate, honor, and remember John Larsen who built John and Peter's into an iconic music club and gave back to the community in many different ways.

Larsen, who passed away in October, will be celebrated during a memorial event on Tuesday, June 11 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the New Hope Arts Center, 2 Stockton Avenue, New Hope, with a reception to follow at John and Peters at 96 South Main Street.

"It's going to be pretty special," said Mayor Larry Keller of the event. "I'm sure there will be some singing and a lot of people speaking. I'm sure the old New Hope guard will show up and some of the younger ones, too. It'll be an old school, old gathering of New Hope and the way it was back in the 70s, 80s and 90s."

At its June workshop meeting, the New Hope Borough Council gave its unanimous approval for the special event, which will pitch a tent on Stockton Avenue to accommodate what is expected to be an overflow crowd.

The event will also serve as a fundraiser for New Hope Arts, an organization that Larsen supported from its founding by his wife, Robin, who directed the center until her death in 2009.

"Many may be shocked by this, but when John started John and Peters it was a breakfast place and coffeehouse and evolved into what it is today," said Mayor Keller. "John's story is pretty special," he continued, including being rolled up in a carpet and smuggled out of Europe to escape the Nazi invasion.

During his time at John and Peters, John nurtured rising talents like Mary Chapin Carpenter, Norah Jones, and Ween, as well as icons like Odessa, George Thorogood, Richie Sambora, Stanley Jordan, Leon Redbone, John Sebastian, Phoebe Snow, Arlo Guthrie, Purple Sage, Iron Butterfly, Martin Mull, Tiny Tim, and Penn and Teller.

John and Peters on North Main Street in New Hope. (Photo by Jeff Werner)

"Rock, blues, country, jazz, novelty acts, and classical greats loved working at the club and having their sets introduced by this charismatic pied piper of a man who was crazy about music, musicians, food, and community," said his obituary.

After leaving the corporate world in the early 1970s, Larsen opened John’s Place, a homemade food restaurant at 96 South Main in New Hope. He did all the cooking himself and developed a strong following, which included young musicians who would play original music at the restaurant in exchange for their meals.

Soon, John began receiving audition tapes from all over the country. Before long, he built a stage, installed a sound system, partnered with former brother-in-law, Peter Price, got a liquor license and, in 1974, John and Peters, the iconic music club was born. In the half-century since, John and Peters has been presenting live music seven days a week, 365 days a year, and is still going strong.

"He had live music there every night," said Keller. "Sometimes they would just get together and jam. We're talking about the keyboardist for Lenny Kravitz. George Thorogood would play there. And Ween was very popular. They would just sell out. It was legendary."

In addition to running John and Peters, Larsen gave back to the community by serving on the New Hope Borough Council, the Greater New Hope Chamber of Commerce, and the New Hope Zoning Board. He also started the New Hope Restaurant & Bar Association and led fundraising venues for community and individual causes.