Back at Kirkland Performance Center for the second time, Grammy Award-winner Marc Cohn is best known for the soulful ballad “Walking in Memphis.”

Cohn has been obsessed with pop music for as long as he can remember. The show, set for this Friday is sold out.

“I was hooked from day one. My older brother had a band that rehearsed in our basement, so I heard Bacharach, The Beatles, Ray Charles, and Motown coming up through the floorboards from the time I was six years old,” Cohn said. “By the time I was eleven though, the Beatles were breaking up and singer-songwriters were breaking through, and a lot of that music really resonated for me.”

On his latest albumListening Booth:1970, he transforms songs from artists like John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, Cat Stevens and Smokey Robinson into tracks that are warm, soulful and full of easygoing charm.

Cohn released his first original song in seven years, “The Coldest Corner of the World” in December. The new tune was prompted by the request of the filmmakers of Tree Man, a documentary about the seasonal vendors who set up Christmas tree pop ups throughout the streets of Manhattan during the holidays.

A true singer/songwriter in every sense of the word, Cohn writes when he feels compelled and inspired, and the urging of one of the filmmakers, Jon Reiner, certainly inspired him.

“At first, when the director Jon [Reiner] approached me to write a holiday song, I was reticent,” Cohn said. “But then when he said it didn’t have to be ahappy song, I gave it a shot. Sometimes an assignment can help spark new ideas. I know it’s been seven years since I released an original song, but I promise it won’t be another seven.”