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 livestreamed or recorded.
If you have any questions, please contact the coordinator:
SPECIAL INVITATIONS: If you can think of a person you know who would enjoy Songs of the Spirit, but they are not a PMN member, you can invite them to participate in this event. All you need to do is contact Joanne Tuller <jt4cmn@yahoo.com> and let her know that you are inviting folks. She will send you very simple instructions for how to invite guests to be part of this experience.
TUNE IN TO THE FREE LIVE BROADCAST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HzwgdDaGlk
Sunday, June 29, 2025, 7:00 - 9:00 PM (EDT)
A good story makes for a good song. For over 50 years Bev & Charlie have been turning stories into song with skill and power. Tune in for this FREE online concert.
This performance is hosted by the Peoples Music Network. It is made possible by funding from the Musicians Performance Trust Fund of the American Federation of Musicians.
* Unlike other PMN livestream events, this livestream will not be viewable after the show ends.
*** Registration is not required to tune in to the free livestream, but when you do register, you get an automatic reminder about the show with the option to tune in via Zoom. Any financial contribution benefits PMN.
PERFORMERS:
Bev Grant is winner of the 2017 ASCAP Jay Gorney songwriter award and the 2017 Joe Hill Award. She grew up singing and playing in Portland, Oregon, where she began her performing career as a child in a band with her two sisters. After moving to New York City, she devoted herself to topical songwriting and social activism, notably in her band The Human Condition. Bev is featured on the Grammy-nominated Best of Broadside album and is the founder and director of the Brooklyn Women’s Chorus. Her song “We Were There” has become an anthem of women in the labor movement, and many other of her award-winning songs can be found on her numerous recordings. Bev has just released her new cd entitled "It's Personal.". www.bevgrant.com
Charlie King is a musical storyteller and political satirist. He has been at the heart of American folk music for over half a century. Pete Seeger hailed him as “One of the finest singers and songwriters of our time.” He is the 2018 recipient of the Phil Ochs Award, recognizing his music and activism for social and political justice in the spirit of Phil Ochs. His songs have been recorded and sung by Pete & Peggy Seeger, Holly Near, Ronnie Gilbert, John McCutcheon, Arlo Guthrie, and Chad Mitchell. www.charlieking.org
ORGANIZATIONAL BENEFICIARY:
The People’s Music Network sustains and grows a diverse community of performing artists, activists, and allies who use music, poetry, and other art forms as catalysts for a just and peaceful world.
SPREAD THE WORD
PMN TRANS-ATLANTIC SONG SESSION
Sunday, 13th July 2025
– In the Eastern US: 12:00 Noon to 2:00 PM
– In the UK: 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
REGISTRATION: Invited artists will be sent the Zoom link for this Trans-Atlantic Song Session, and they will be pre-registered unless they tell us otherwise. Other participants should use the form below to register. There is no fee to register, but any financial contribution you make supports the People's Music Network.
ABOUT THIS SESSION: This Trans-Atlantic Song Session will be like singers sessions found in folk clubs throughout the United Kingdom and the open mic nights in the United States and Canada. The MC will call upon participants in assigned order. When called upon, you will have up to five minutes of performance time for a song, recitation, or poem. If you want to listen only, be sure to register using the "audience" registration option. Your five minutes includes a brief comment about the previous performer plus any introduction. We request that participants attend the entire session.
THEME: We ask that you honor PMN’s purpose by choosing a song, recitation, or poem that focuses on freedom, peace, social justice, human rights, and/or liberation.
ELIGIBILITY TO PERFORM: All participants in this singers session must...
• Either be a PMN member in good standing, or else be invited by the session hosts.
• Either be pre-registered by invitation or else use this form to register.
• Have a computer or tablet with a functioning video camera and microphone.
* If you are not yet a member of PMN, you may join here: https://www.peoplesmusic.org/join-PMN
HOW WE SELECT PERFORMERS:
• If you have been invited by the session organizers (Joanie Calem, Sharleen Leahey, or Steve Suffet), you are assured of a performance slot.
• We are aiming to have about half the performers be from the UK and the other half be from North America. One of the goals is building person to person links across national borders. Most of the invited artists are from the UK.
• If you would like to perform, please indicate so when you register. The organizers will seek diversity of demographics, geography, and musical/artistic style. They will also give preference to artists who have not recently performed in an on-line PMN event. If we can't fit you in this time, we anticipate more opportunities in the future.
Technical Orientation Session: 60 minutes before showtime @11:00am (ET) / 4:00pm (UK).
Performers are invited to a technical orientation session, 60 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/
ABOUT PMN: With roots going back to 1977, the People's Music Network for Songs of Freedom and Struggle is a diverse community of performing artists, activists, and allies, based mostly in the US, who use music, poetry, and other art forms as catalysts for a just and peaceful world. Before the pandemic, PMN's main activity had been holding two large in-person get-togethers each year referred to as gatherings or convergences. During the covid pandemic, PMN began hold many on-line activities. Today PMN holds both in-person and on-line events.
©2017-2021 People's Music Network for Songs of Freedom and Struggle is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
