songbreak
an lgbtq+-affirming community singing gathering
co-led by eileen hazel and tova feldmanstern
on the last Friday of each month 1-2:15pm
outdoors in el cerrito, ca
ten minute walk from del norte bart station/free street parking
short staircase (two or three steps)
email: [email protected] for address
songbreak
sometimes I need a break
occasionally I break into song
often I am heartbroken
and a song is there
doing whatever it does
sunlight breaks over the horizon
or doesn’t
-see entry for clouds, for smoke
sometimes I would prefer it didn’t
-see entry for shame, for despair
and here it is
with its fire
eliciting birdsong
sometimes I need a break
occasionally I break into song
often I am heartbroken
and a song is there
doing whatever it does
sunlight breaks over the horizon
or doesn’t
-see entry for clouds, for smoke
sometimes I would prefer it didn’t
-see entry for shame, for despair
and here it is
with its fire
eliciting birdsong
what me sing?
- song is a technology of belonging: when we feel a sense of belonging to each other, we often want to sing together: ceremony, celebration, lullaby, concert, karaoke, protest... not to mention how, alone in the shower or car, when we feel like we belong more wholly to ourselves, we suddenly become birds.
- song is a technology for belonging: when we make music together, our sense of separation wanes and belonging takes its rightful place.
- community singing is a radical act: when we use our voices to make a ruckus rhapsody in service of the collective and/or we choose to be quiet in reverence, protest, or for soothing, we cannot be silenced.
- music heals: as we engage in a collective practice of embodiment, acceptance and care, we (re)build wholeness in our community.
- song is a basic survival skill: like our avian ancestors and relatives, we sing to communicate further and more deeply than words allow. across time and space, rhythm, lyric, melody, harmony and silence connect us. will you bring yours?
what songs will be sung?
- short songs that are easy to learn by ear, help us connect (like these or these), invite harmony, plus whatever song you want to bring :-)
where does my donation go if i choose to make one?
- it supports the artists whose songs we sing, as well as local non-profit music programs in disenfranchised communities around the Bay Area. Shuumi Land Tax is contributed to the Sogorea Te' Land Trust, working to return land and rights to those whose land we sing upon.