WATER MATTERS

Traveled uptown last night in the rain for a very special event

The sloop "Clearwater" is undergoing its largest restoration ever, at costs of $5,000 a day.  We are focusing our effort on making sure the boat can sail again this year. The sloop is the foundation of our organization, the vessel that brings people to the Hudson River and an inspiration to all who love her. Our work to protect the Hudson River is our primary mission

Sponsored by the New York Society for Ethical Culture

and 

New York City Friends of Clearwater

LINKS BELOW

~*~

(Passing the Hat)

Performers:

BEV GRANT

 https://youtu.be/6JvwD3FNGfY

Bev Grant 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.

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THE PEACE POETS

A collective of artists that celebrate, examine and advocate for life through music and poetry. Our art can take you on a journey from the Boogie Down to Berlin, from the border to the bodega. Our style emphasizes lyricism, rhythm and authenticity. We hail from the Bronx and have been rocking the mic since 2005.

BETHANY YARROW AND RUFUS

As the daughter of folk legend Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary, Bethany absorbed much of this music through osmosis in her early childhood, but it’s her tour-de-force stage presence, mesmerizing voice and deep knowledge of the material allow her to turn these songs inside out and find their less explored, enchanted underside. Rufus Cappadocia is one of the leading voices on the cello today, making a career of going where few cellists have gone before. He has toured throughout the Americas and Europe with numerous groups and is known for his collaborations with artists from all over the world including Urban Tap, The Paradox Trio, and the Voudou Drums of Haiti. After years of experimentation, Rufus plays a self designed Five String Electric Cello that extends the bass range of the cello and expands the tonal possibilities of the instrument.

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BERNICE SILVER

(excerpted from her own words) "I am here on earth for 102 and a half years, active for many concerns.  I met Pete Seeger around 1962.  I wrote songs through Pete at meetings that took place at the peace pentagon, formerly the war resisters league on Lafayette Street.  I became a puppeteer through my former employment as a nursery school teacher having worked with hundreds of children.  The decades of puppetry and environmental action have flowed by like the wind."

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THE EBONY HILLBILLIES

As one of the last black string bands in the U.S., currently based in the concrete hills of NYC, the Hillbillies keep an important legacy alive with a roots, homegrown style that many forget was a key element in the genesis of all the music we cherish as uniquely American—jazz, blues, bluegrass, rockabilly, rock and roll and country. Bringing a fresh urgency to the genre for a 21st Century world in need of some deep musical education, the ensemble led by Henrique Prince (fiddle, vocals) and Norris Bennett (banjo, mountain dulcimer, guitar, vocals)-- featuring Gloria Thomas Gassaway on vocals and bones, William “Salty Bill” Salter on acoustic bass with A.R. and Newman Taylor Baker on washboard and percussion--creates an untamed and joyful vibe that echoes across the generations and transcends all racial and cultural boundaries.

 ~*~

THE CHAPIN SISTERS

Abigail and Lily were born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in the Hudson Valley. They sang professionally from an early age, first on their dad Tom Chapin's children's records, later on they sang in benefit and tribute concerts honoring their uncle, the late singer and activist Harry Chapin.  Jumping ahead, On September 14, 2010, Abigail and Lily released their second full-length album "Two" on their own label, Lake Bottom Records.  "The one virtue the Chapin Sisters shares with classic sister acts of old becomes apparent when they sing together: that shiver of spotless, familial unity that makes every syllable woundingly poignant." They are committed eco-activists and brand new mothers too.

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JUDY GORMAN

Judy Gorman performs in clubs, festivals, universities,
peace & social justice events in over ten countries & forty-nine of these United States. Judy's performed on programs with Ani DiFranco, Indigo Girls, Moby, Richie Havens, Carlos Mejia Godoy, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Pete Seeger, Odetta and Suzanne Vega. Born and educated in NYC, Judy earned a BA in literature and a Master's degree in art history. Before touring full time as a musician, she taught English in Chinatown, assisted in oral surgery, worked at the Guggenheim Museum and Metropolitan Museum of Art, did construction work, community organizing and produced programs for Pacificas WBAI, 99.5 FM in NYC.

https://youtu.be/-6wmp1ICV8U 

~*~

KIM AND REGGIE HARRIS

Two singers, songwriters, storytellers, educators, historical interpreters and cultural advocates.  Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a city rich in musical and cultural heritage, Kim and Reggie were exposed to range of composers and musical genres. It was the start of what has evolved into the " Bach to Rock" musical approach, with the strongest elements being Folk, Gospel and Jazz.

 ~*~

"The truth is not the facts, the world is not the maps,
And everyday the concrete cracks and the new grass unfurls
Like an analog girl in a digital world."

Judy Gorman

LINKS

Bev Grant

http://thepeacepoets.com/about-us/

 Bethany and Rufus

The Clearwater

Bernice Silver 

 http://www.ebonyhillbillies.com/

http://www.thechapinsisters.com/

Judy Gorman

Kim and Reggie Harris