March 25 2026

James Kahn new single — Cold Dawn

James Kahn comes by his view of history both past and present from a knowing perspective. A
novelist, screenwriter, doctor, television writer/producer and singer/songwriter, he can claim a
prodigious output over the course of a multi-faceted career.

In 2025, he released a limited auto-bio, My Jedi Memoir: A Double Life, in which he imagined
Return of the Jedi, Poltergeist, The Goonies, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, as a
chronicle that parallels modern existence. He also wrote and produced Star Trek: Voyager and
took part in the production of other popular television series, all while working as an emergency medical doctor. He is currently writing a Substack, The Jedi Medic, which recounts all the stories he left out of the book.

Nevertheless, over the past decade or so, Kahn’s major focus has centered around his music,
including such outstanding albums as Waterline, Man Walks Into a Bar, Matamoros, and By the Risin of the Seas. They carry various themes, many of them centered around concerns that revolve around shifts in culture, difficulties and a divide instigated by a government that
seemingly operates without any guardrails, the indifference and injustice perpetrated on innocent
citizenry, the increasing threat of climate change, and perhaps most sinister, the rise of
autocratical rule and an overall threat to democracy as we once knew it..

Kahn’s new single, “Cold Dawn,” brings those issues to the fore. It’s a call to arms that urges
activism in the face of repression and perseverance while fighting to ensure that justice will
eventually prevail. It takes an ominous and unflinching view of the challenges to society that lie
ahead, even when the obstacles seem overwhelming. Kahn concedes that these are indeed dark
times, as typified by a secret police that rounds people up without due process and separates
children from their families, even while the rich and powerful are given a pass for their crimes
and their desire to wage war on a whim.

What would you do if you smell smoke
What would you do about the children
Who would you hide-
Or would you still be sleeping?

A compelling melody underscores it all, making it an anthem of sorts that boasts a resilient
refrain. Taken in tandem, it gives “Cold Dawn” a drive and determination that leaves no doubt as
far as its urgency and engagement.
So too, the accompanying video illustrates the need to resist any temptation to succumb to the
tyranny before us. It includes archival newsreel footage, showing peaceful protest of the past
while framing heroes of a past era in the persons of Martin Luther King and Anne Frank. So too,
it juxtaposes images of present-day resistance versus various views of Donald Trump as he
parades about and flaunts his authority.

Ultimately, “Cold Dawn” comes down to one thing — that is, the need to hold on and turn back
the forces of darkness in whatever small way one can. It is, after all, imperative to simply
survive.

Lee Zimmerman- is a freelance music writer whose articles have appeared in several leading music industry publications. A former promotions representative for ABC and Capitol Records and director of communications for various CBS-affiliated television stations, he lives in Maryville, Tennessee.

To Read All of Lee's Reviews, Click Here