Activism and Music
Holly Near & emma's revolution
Thursday April 10, 2008
$20 adv. $25 dr. - 8pm
An evening of activism with social change artists Holly Near & emma's revolution. A dynamic evening of song, talk, and music that will rouse your spirits, inspire motivation, and move you to your higher self.
For more information on Holly Near please click here.
Fore more information on emma's revolution click here.
For advance tickets click here.
Holly Near is a unique combination of entertainer, teacher and activist. An immense vocal talent, Near's career as a singer has been profoundly defined by an unwillingness to separate her passion for music from her passion for human dignity. She is a skilled performer and an outspoken ambassador for peace who brings to the stage an integration of world consciousness, spiritual discovery, and theatricality.
Holly was born to parents from the states of North Dakota and New York. The were political activists, ranchers, and supporters of culture in the rural community of Ukiah, California. Although Holly sang publicly from the time she was eight years old, her professional career began in her early twenties when she worked as an actress in film and television. She also appeared in Hair on Broadway. Eventually music returned to become her major focus, especially that music which articulated the social conditions of the world community.
In 1971, when she was 22 years old, Holly joined Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, and other artists in the Free The Army Tour, singing to soldiers who were resisting war and racism from within the military. Near started writing and singing political songs. Following in the footsteps of such writers as Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, Beverly Grant, and Hazel Dickens, she added newly discovered feminist perspective to anti-war songs and developed a unique and recognizable style.
Holly is not resting on her laurels, but continues to write and sing political songs with grace and humor. Holly Near's integrity earns her the reputation as one of the most articulate political artists of our time. Her newest CD, Show Up, proves that she continues to sing with a power and maturity that may only come from decades of love and fear, despair and inspiration. More on Holly's bio here
emma's revolution: Pat Humphries and Sandy Opatow. Pat's much acclaimed anthems, "Keep on Moving Forward (Never Turning Back)," "Common Thread," and "Swimming to the Other Side," are sung at peace and justice events around the world and have been translated into seven languages. Pat sang "Keep on Moving Forward" at the United Nations memorial honoring former congress member, Bella Abzug, and this song opened the Fourth UN World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995.
“If I Give Your Name,” by Sandy Opatow and Pat Humphries is the Grand Prize Winner in the Folk Category of the prestigious John Lennon Songwriting Contest. The song sheds light on the silent suffering of family members of undocumented workers lost on 9/11 in the World Trade Center and was one of 12 grand prize winners out of 24,000 entries. Hear "If I Give Your Name" at www.pathumphries.com and find out more about the situation of undocumented at http://www.tepeyac.org/wtc.html
In May 2002, Pat and "Swimming to the Other Side" were featured on NPR's All Things Considered. In the interview, Pete Seeger said, "The powers that be can control the media (but) it's hard to stop a good song . . .Pat's songs will be sung well into the 22nd century." The tremendous and unprecedented response by NPR listeners made Pat's CD, "Hands," the #1 seller on Amazon.com for three days following--outselling Eminem.
Pat and her partner, Sandy Opatow, were in the process of moving to the Washington DC area from New York City when the events of September 11th, 2001, occurred. Since then, they have been performing at concerts, teach-ins and rallies, including leading 10,000 people in NYC singing their song "Peace, Salaam, Shalom," less than a month after September 11th and again at an all-night peace vigil in NYC on the first anniversary. Their songs have been featured on Pacifica Radio's "Democracy Now!" with Amy Goodman. Rhythms Magazine called "Hands" a "powerful and energetic album. . . one of the best of 2001."
