We’re pleased to present Emma’s Revolution on Friday May 10th!
Pat Humphries and Sandy Opatow
Special for this concert only: $15-$25 sliding scale donations.
“Fervent and heartfelt” ~The New York Times
Emma’s Revolution is the dynamic, award-winning activist duo of Pat Humphries & Sandy O, whose songs have been sung for the Dalai Lama, praised by Pete Seeger, and covered by Holly Near. With beautiful harmonies and genre-defying eclecticism, Emma’s Revolution delivers the energy and strength of their convictions, in an uprising of truth and hope for these tumultuous times.
“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.” — Pete Seeger (All Things Considered, NPR)
Emma’s Revolution’s 2019 shows include songs and stories in celebration of the 100th birthday of Pete Seeger, a friend and mentor to the duo. Pat’s nearly 30-year friendship with Pete spanned performances at NYC’s Symphony Space to helping gather sap from the maple trees on his property to swapping stories and sharing holidays with Pete and his wife, Toshi. As Pat recounts on stage, “I was at Pete’s bedside when he died. When I heard he was in the hospital, I drove up to NY, joining a steady stream of family and friends who came to sing Pete’s songs back to him in gratitude for all the times he had left home to sing to us. As the day and evening wore on, a small circle of family and friends remained. We sang our last songs together, sending Pete off onto his next adventure with our love.”
The duo’s latest CD, Revolution Now, includes “Sing People Sing”, the tribute Pat began writing that night that captures Pete’s unique ability to empower an audience with harmony and hope. Revolution Now, garnered top acclaim from radio stations across the country: Top Artist #20 (after Joan Baez), Top Album #24 (after Bela Fleck) and Top Song #25 “Sing People Sing” (after Rhiannon Giddens). The recording covers issues from reproductive justice to refugees and Black Lives Matter to the sustaining power of love and includes Sandy’s beautiful setting of Woody Guthrie’s plaintive lyric, “Revolutionary Mind”, one of the many lyrics Woody left behind without an existing melody. With a core sound featuring their signature exquisite harmonies and acoustic guitars, the duo’s songs span styles from folk to jazz and funk to rock.
“Emma’s Revolution invokes Woody Guthrie and the revolutionary mind on ‘Revolution Now’, a rocking new album brimming with songs that inspire, enlighten and unify.” — Mary Sue Twohy (The Village, SiriusXM) Emma’s Revolution continues to write songs that are tools of inspiration and motivation to fuel today’s resistance movements. Their stunningly powerful song and video, “I Believe Her”, written in support of Dr Christine Blasey Ford, Dr Anita Hill and all survivors, was heralded by The Daily Kos in an article titled “We Have An Anthem, Folks”, called “the musical equivalent of breaking news” by KPFA Radio and shared heavily on social media.
The duo debuted their latest song, “Trumpty Dumpty (That’s An Emergency)”, at the Day of Action opposing President Trump’s national emergency declaration. The song is being shared on social media and played on radio. Emma’s Revolution are winners of the Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and the first Phil Ochs Award. Their music has been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered and Pacifica’s Democracy Now. The duo were featured performers at the Parliament of the World’s Religions, performing to an audience of 10,000, and are contributors to the Grammy-nominated CDs, Singing Through the Hard Times – A Tribute to Utah Phillips and Seeds: The Songs of Pete Seeger Vol 3. In the spirit of Emma Goldman’s famous attribution, “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution,”
Emma’s Revolution brings their uprising of truth and hope to concerts, festivals, conferences and justice events. The duo has given thousands of performances throughout the US and around the world in Canada, Chile, Korea, Scotland, England, Israel, Palestine, Nicaragua and Cuba. Emma’s Revolution consistently delivers performances so powerful, audiences leap to their feet to demand more.
Website: EmmasRevolution.com FaceBook: facebook.com/emmasrevolution/ Instagram:
instagram.com/emmas_revolution/ Twitter: @emmasrevolution Email: emmasrevolution@me.com