Registration Deadline: Tuesday, April 8, 2025, at 11:59 PM (ET)
In this Zoom event, members of the People's Music Network from around the world share songs of Freedom and Struggle in a fun, inclusive, supportive, and collaborative online setting!
The Topic
PMN members will gather on Zoom, using songs and poems to discuss the political, economic, and ecological crisis in the United States. Please bring your musical expressions to this session, and leave the political speeches at the door. We'll grapple with threats magnified by the 2024 US Presidential election such as right-wing authoritarianism, Christian nationalism, state-sanctioned criminality, and attacks on immigrant communities. We're singing about the persistent continuity of racism, poverty, militarism, and environmental destruction in our society, and the impact on the whole world.
As a community, the People's Music Network gathers strength and courage to face scary challenges by singing songs that nourish our spirits, and help us make sense of events unfolding around us. Come be inspired and renewed through this participatory process of sharing a politically-conscious musical culture.
How to Participate
Using the button on the left side of this web page, PMN members and invited artists can register to share a song or a poem and/or to be part of the audience for this event. After registering, you receive an e-mail message containing the Zoom Meeting link. Due to time constraints and a vibrant community of performers keen to participate (400 active PMN members in total), it isn't always possible to include every interested performer in the final line up. In the event that not everyone performs, we'll make a wait list. Most people perform live, but we also welcome pre-recorded videos, immediately preceded by a live introduction.
Free Livestream TUNE INTO THE LIVE BROADCAST via YOUTUBE
Thursday, April 10, 2025, 7-9pm (ET) / 4-6pm (PT)
*** Right after the show ends, the archive of the livestream will be available at this same link.
LYRICS: TBA
PERFORMER LIST: TBA
Eligibility to Perform:
Performers in this swap must:
1) Be invited artists and/or PMN members in good standing.* 2) Register using the online form. 3) Have a computer with functioning video camera and microphone. * If you are not a PMN member, you may join here: https://www.peoplesmusic.org/join-PMN
1) Be invited artists and/or PMN members in good standing.*
2) Register using the online form.
3) Have a computer with functioning video camera and microphone.
* If you are not a PMN member, you may join here: https://www.peoplesmusic.org/join-PMN
How we Select the Performers
We give priority to PMN members who are new or relatively new to our series of online song and poetry swaps. We will highlight songs by any PMN member who presented an earlier version of the song to our monthly Songwriters Peer Feedback Session, "If I had a Song" (check upcoming dates here).
Every PMN member wishing to perform at this event is invited to register and to do so sooner than later. Selection for the final performance list, however, is not first-come first-served. PMN hosts song sharing events regularly. If we can't fit you in this time, anticipate more opportunities soon!
Technical Orientation Session: 45 minutes before showtime @6:15pm (ET) / 3:15pm (PT).
Performers are invited to a technical orientation session, 45 minutes before showtime, where we discuss and practice how to get the best sound when doing a musical performance on Zoom. Each performer has a chance to sing a verse of a song and then receive feedback on ways to improve the audio quality. Artists new to Zoom are strongly encouraged to attend the tech orientation, because doing so will build your confidence in using these tools. The audio quality that listeners hear of your live performance depends on the equipment you have and how you use it. Check out this great resource for performers wanting to get their best audio quality when playing on Zoom. It comes from our friends at Folk Alliance Region Midwest: https://www.farmfolk.org/zoom-performer-toolbox/
Help Publicize!
Encourage your friends to tune into this online musical event for progressive culture: Share the event on Facebook!! (link coming soon)
FREE LIVESTREAM: Tuesday, April 22, 2025, 7:00 – 9:00 PM (ET)
on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUWS6yWqbkA
*** Once event ends, livestream is archived at this same link.
Deadline to register to perform: Wednesday, April 12, at 11:59 PM (ET)
Earth Day was first observed on April 22, 1970, when an estimated 20 million people nationwide attended the inaugural events at tens of thousands of sites including elementary and secondary schools, universities, and community sites across the United States. Likely many PMN members, past and current, were present at some of those events. In 1990, activist Denis Hayes, one of the original organizers, made it international by taking it to 14 other countries. It was founded and continues to highlight the premise that all people, regardless of race, gender, income, or geography, have a moral right to a healthy, sustainable environment. Let’s sing out!
In this Zoom event, members of the People's Music Network from around the world are invited to share songs of Freedom and Struggle in honor of our home, Mother Earth. Come join us with your Earth songs in a fun, inclusive, supportive, and collaborative online setting!
Contact Joanie Calem <joaniecalem@gmail.com>
LYRICS: (to be posted day before the event)
PERFORMER LIST: (to be posted before the event)
Help Spread the Word!
on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/521647830895562
FREE LIVESTREAM: Sunday, May 4, 2025, 7:00 – 9:00 PM (ET)
on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQYdnZOWeE4
Deadline to register to perform: Thursday, April 24, at 11:59 PM (ET)
May Day, celebrated on May 1st, commemorates the Haymarket Affair of 1886 and was designated as International Workers' Day by an international federation of socialist groups and trade unions in 1889. May Day is now observed in many countries as a day to commemorate the historic struggles and gains made by workers and the labor movement.
Come join us for an evening of songs in honor of workers who put their bodies on the line (often on the picket line) to win fair and just labor practices, the right to join a union, and other worker rights.
Contact Marcie Boyd marcie.boyd@gmail.com>
on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/514835371449337
Register IN-PERSON
Read Summer Gathering Program
The 2025 People’s Music Network Summer Gathering takes place at Camp Grotonwood, Groton, MA.
Save the date: add the PMN Summer Gathering to your Google calendar.
The event begins with arrival and participatory singing on Friday, May 23, 2025. Then on Saturday and Sunday (May 24 & 25), we’ll have participatory workshops and song swaps, and a Saturday night “Collaborative Concert Round Robin” – all highlighting the role of music in progressive social change. Expect numerous opportunities to share music, sing together, and to join efforts to bring music into the heart of struggles for justice and freedom today.
Click on the Summer Gathering Overview for details about Schedule, Workshops, Logistics (Food, Housing and Other), Directions, Transportation and more.
Registration Rate Table:
Discounts
Registration Policies:
The Matt Jones Scholarship Fund (MJSF): The MJTF fosters a multi-racial and inter-generational artistic and political community at PMN by covering registration costs (including meals) and travel costs for young people and people of color. Scholarship applicants may request up to $50 in travel stipends to reimburse for the cost of travel. Since 2016, the fund has awarded $24,400 in scholarship funds to people attending PMN gatherings. We're inviting individual registrants to consider making an extra contribution to the Matt Jones Scholarship Fund when you register in order to sustain this fund.
©2017-2021 People's Music Network for Songs of Freedom and Struggle is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
