Upcoming Events

Switch to Calendar View

• Songs of the Spirit (Participatory Singing)

  • When
    10/19/2025
  •  
    11:30 AM - 12:45 PM
  • Location
    Private Zoom Meeting, provided via e-mail upon registration

  Register

  
  

  SONGS of the SPIRIT - Sunday October 19th, 11:30 am - 12:45 pm (Eastern)

  Facilitator: Joanne Tuller

  Registration
  

  Free registration for this event is open to all members of PMN.  Not a member?  Check out our inclusive sliding scale membership policy.

  Immediately upon registering, you will receive an e-mail confirmation that provides you a link to a private Zoom meeting.

  Description

  Come join us in this shared experience of Community and Heart.  You're invited to enjoy a (digital) community circle where inspirational and empowering songs from many traditions rise up from the group.  Singers offer a song one by one without instruments or song sheets.  These are songs that people know or can learn easily without requiring a lot of teaching.

  In this online event, we are drawing upon the tradition of Songs of the Spirit, which has been a consistent feature of PMN/SFS Gatherings since 1977.  One person will sing and others will sing along.  We ask everyone to mute themselves while the one person is singing, allowing all of us to at least see each other as we fill our separate physical spaces with music.

  Between songs, we pause, breathe and feel the energy and connection of the group. We are sustaining this rich tradition during the pandemic, despite the inherent limits of Zoom.  One part of our tradition is recognizing that the silence is sacred.  In avoiding the urgency to fill a space with song, once we finally do fill a space with song, that song sinks in more deeply.

  This is a wonderful opportunity to build community and to harmonize (in your own home) and to start the day with some grounded sacredness.

  This event will not be live-streamed or recorded.

  If you have any questions, please contact the coordinator:

  • Joanne Tuller <jt4cmn@yahoo.com> 
    

  SPECIAL INVITATIONS:  If you know someone who would enjoy Songs of the Spirit, but they are not a PMN member, you can invite them to participate!  Simply contact Joanne Tuller <jt4cmn@yahoo.com> .  She will send easy instructions for how to invite guests to be part of this experience.
  

  Show details
• PMN "Songs of Struggle for a Country/World in Crisis" (Online Song Swap)

  • When
    10/23/2025
  •  
    7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
  • Location
    On Zoom and YouTube Live

  Register

  

  Registration Deadline: Tuesday, Oct 16, 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 our entire world at this time. Please bring your musical expressions to this session, and leave the political speeches at the door. We'll grapple with the current threats erupting all over the world, 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 current political 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

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-rYnZ2B_AU 
  

  Thursday, OCT. 23, 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:]

  PERFORMER LIST:

  [COMING SOON!]

  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

  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 rather 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!!  

  https://www.facebook.com/events/1091202283183654

  Show details
• PMN Songwriters Peer Feedback Session: "If I had a Song" -ZOOM Only

  • When
    10/27/2025
  •  
    7:30 PM - 9:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom Meeting info provided after registration. Confirmation provided by Joanie Calem <joaniecalem@gmail.com> on day of Workshop.

  Register

  
  

  *** Registration Deadline: Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025 at 10:00 PM (ET). 

  Workshop Description

  Songwriters in People's Music Network strive to write songs that wake people up, challenge the status quo, and reach people’s hearts and minds. We don't believe it takes larger-than-life talent to create powerful songs. Rather, the craft of songwriting involves skill, practice, hard work, and the willingness to listen to how our words and music land with others.

  Through our monthly “If I Had a Song” workshops, PMN is building a loving and supportive creative community that provides songwriters with the honest listening we need. Participants present a song-in-progress to like-minded songwriters, and then receive constructive feedback. We’d love to have you join us.

  BREAKOUT GROUPS:  During the session, we'll break into groups of 4-5 songwriters presenting songs-in-progress.  Each presenting songwriter gets 15 minutes to share their song and receive peer critique from the group.  We'll explore giving and receiving kind, truthful and supportive feedback, while striving to make our songs more effective.  One may register for the workshop as a supporting songwriter to listen and give feedback.  Breakout groups may have 1-3 supporting songwriters.
  

  LYRIC SHARING: On the day of the workshop, all confirmed registrants will receive an email containing the Zoom Link plus a link to a google drive folder.  Confirmed registrants will receive a separate notification via google drive, which gives you the ability to make written comments on other people's lyrics-in-progress.  This can be done before, during, or after the session.

  Requirements for Participation:
  

  There is no wait list for the session.  Every registrant who meets the following requirements will be confirmed to present a song in progress for peer critique: 
  

  1. At the time of registration, if you are bringing a song to the group for critique, you must submit a lyric sheet of an original song in progress.  This means 1) you wrote the lyrics and 2) your intention is to get feedback from others to help you do further work on your song to improve it.   If the songwriter believes their song is finished and does not intend to do further work on the song, it should not be submitted. 
  2. The song-in-progress you submit should connect with PMN’s mission of using music as a catalyst for a just and peaceful world.

  Eligibility to Participate:

  Participants in this workshop must:

  1. be PMN members in good standing* 
  2. register using this 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

  Workshop Facilitators:

  • Marcie Boyd:  Marcie Boyd is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, teacher, activist, and longtime PMN member.  She lives in Berkeley, CA, where she sings with Occupella and the LaPeña Chorus.
  • Steve Deasy:  Award-winning American-Canadian performing songwriter, producer and arranger; socially conscious in the tradition of Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger with contemporary musicality.  PMN Steering Committee member. www.stevedeasy.com
  • Eric H. F. Law: Singer/songwriter, visual artist, Episcopal Priest, author of over 10 books on building justice and inclusive communities and founder of the Kaleidoscope Institute for diverse and sustainable communities. PMN Steering committee member.  https://erichflaw.hearnow.com/

  • Joanie Calem is a musician, singer/songwriter, storyteller, disability awareness activist, community-builder, cross-cultural worker and teacher. She has been teaching music and performing since 1983. Joanie uses music to break down stereotypes, build community and foster connection.

  FACILITATORS EXPLAIN THIS PROCESS

  Watch our 3 minute video explaining how members of the People's Music Network are building a community of peers who are writing songs for social change: 

  
  

  Show details