Congregation B’Nai Israel in Northampton, MA will host and co-sponsor the 3rd annual Songs of Hope & Resistance, a sing-a-long concert in the tradition of Pete Seeger, with The Nields and special guests Local Chorus and Focus Chorus, benefiting the Rosenberg Fund for Children.
- Sunday, November 17, 2019, 3:30 pm (doors open at 3:00)
- Congregation B'Nai Israel, 253 Prospect St., Northampton, MA (on-site parking)
- Suggested donation: $15/adults, $5/kids 12 & under, $30 max/family (no advanced tix)
Join The Nields, the RFC, and Congregation B'Nai Israel for this event celebrating community, song, family, and resistance.
The Nields (sisters Katryna and Nerissa), are a dynamic folk duo based in western MA. The primary inspiration behind their recent album, XVII, was Nerissa and Katryna’s hero, Pete Seeger, who died in January of 2014. His love of sharing music and his passion for justice had been a part of their lives since before they were born (their parents fell in love at a Pete Seeger concert). His death affected them profoundly. Pete is clearly on the album in songs like “Joe Hill” and “Wasn’t That a Time,” but the entire album is infused with his spirit. It’s there in the Nields’ delight in sharing music and in using it to build a community.
“I feel like when Pete died,” Katryna recalls “all musicians thought ‘How do I carry on this tradition that he gave us and how do we nurture that.’ The greatest thing you get to do as a musician is create a community; that’s the gift that Pete Seeger gave us more than anything else. It’s our job to just keep singing and to keep encouraging others to keep singing, too.”
Local Chorus was founded in 2015 by Nerissa Nields. Its mission is to bring joy to the community through music and performance with a focus on doing benefits for organizations that make the world a better place. Kids aged 5-14 sing a wide repertoire of folk, pop, rock and classical music in one-, two- and three-part arrangements. When possible, the chorus incorporates strings played by the students, as well as guitar and percussion played by adults and students.
The Easthampton, MA-based RFC is a non-profit foundation started by the son of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, that helps kids in the U.S. whose parents have been targeted because of their progressive activism. The RFC also assists youth in this country who’ve experienced repression because of their own organizing.