By: Shane Bagot, Community Journalist
COLLINGSWOOD — Popular Pink Floyd tribute band, The Machine, is making a stop on its tour to perform at the South Jersey venue, Scottish Rite Auditorium. A historic and well-known structure of South Jersey is a special place for the band. The show is on March 27, 2026, at 7:00 p.m.
The Machine has been a force as a tribute band for nearly 40 years now. It was founded by the current drummer, Tahrah Cohen, and the late co-founder Joe Pascarell. It all started when Pascarell introduced Cohen to Pink Floyd.
“I remember seeing Pink Floyd live and hearing them play Shine on You Crazy Diamond. That was a big turning point for me, where I was just so encapsulated by the vocals, the story, and just the dynamic range of all the music. How it can be very soft, very loud, and as a musician, that’s really appealing to just be playing music that’s not just one dynamic,” said Cohen.
The band started in Nyack, New York. Cohen and Pascarell got some friends together to play music just because they loved to. During the first two years of the band, they experimented with playing Talking Heads and INXS.
They caught on quickly to the love they received from Pink Floyd and began to grow a strong connection with the music itself.
“The music in and of itself is very emotional, which is appealing to me and the rest of the band, like highly emotional content. The textures that the band use, like synthesizers and vocal textures and the originality of the music. It was all very appealing for us as musicians. The intensity that is conveyed through the music, the simplicity, which is very appealing, it’s deceiving,” said Cohen.
As The Machine got bigger and more recognized, so did the performances. It would begin to take inspiration from the Pink Floyd shows of the past. Deeper and longer playing with much improvisation, lasers, moving lights, videos, and stage displays that rival what Pink Floyd would have done.
Despite taking inspiration from Pink Floyd, the idea was never to do a one-for-one cover or recreations of the shows. They aim to play the music the way they want to while still being faithful to the structure and legacy that Pink Floyd built. The main aim for them is to connect with the audience above all.
One of the venues where they have strengthened their connection with the audience is the Scottish Rite Auditorium. The Machine has performed there multiple times. Some of the performances include doing the albums Animals and The Wall, while doing their usual setlist as well. They even did their 30th anniversary show there.
The reason they keep coming back is that the audience wants it. The band can feel it whenever they step on the stage.
“That’s one of the great things about that venue, is its very enthusiastic, energetic audience, which creates, like a feedback loop,” said Cohen.
The Machine hopes to keep the music going and give the fans what they want.
“While we remain passionate about playing together and playing the music, that’s our goal, and just to keep the music alive, which is not that difficult to do, because the audience loves what we do and the way we do it,” said Cohen.
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