I had just moved to New York for grad school at Parsons School of Design. There was a sea of posters all around the college in the first week, when I saw one poster up in particular. It was this group of people in bright colorful clothes dancing and it read ‘The Stop Shopping Choir’. I thought I have to go check it out.
A couple of weeks later I went with a couple of friends - our mouths were open the whole time in this mixture of shock and admiration. I’d never been to something like that before. It was a group of these beautiful, eclectic humans all coming together in this inter-generational motley crew. Reverend Billy was barefoot wearing a tuxedo - grounded to the earth. I just knew I wanted to be around these people. But it took me a few months to actually join, as I don’t think I was quite ready yet.
The choir is a performance group that comes together to slow consumerism. It’s perfectly placed in a city like New York. We sing 'Earthalujah!' as a constant reminder to love the earth and sing for the earth. It’s a community that I’ve been lucky enough to join in the last few years but it’s been in motion for decades. The choir can be found singing on the stage, in Times Square or even on tour - it recently toured around the US with Neil Young.
What the choir, Reverend Billy and Savitri have done so well is using this form of performance to really get through to people. I think it gives people this sense of hope. I’ve seen so many tears, I’ve seen so much laughter in the crowd. I think anyone who has come to see the performance has left feeling like no matter who you are you can do something on a micro level to care for the earth.
When we perform, I just want people to feel that same adrenaline and hopefulness that I feel every time I leave the rehearsal. It kind of feels like a collective music therapy. I think music has that way of transcending personal differences and bringing people together and I’ve never really experienced something quite this special. Earthalujah!
A couple of weeks later I went with a couple of friends - our mouths were open the whole time in this mixture of shock and admiration. I’d never been to something like that before. It was a group of these beautiful, eclectic humans all coming together in this inter-generational motley crew. Reverend Billy was barefoot wearing a tuxedo - grounded to the earth. I just knew I wanted to be around these people. But it took me a few months to actually join, as I don’t think I was quite ready yet.
The choir is a performance group that comes together to slow consumerism. It’s perfectly placed in a city like New York. We sing 'Earthalujah!' as a constant reminder to love the earth and sing for the earth. It’s a community that I’ve been lucky enough to join in the last few years but it’s been in motion for decades. The choir can be found singing on the stage, in Times Square or even on tour - it recently toured around the US with Neil Young.
What the choir, Reverend Billy and Savitri have done so well is using this form of performance to really get through to people. I think it gives people this sense of hope. I’ve seen so many tears, I’ve seen so much laughter in the crowd. I think anyone who has come to see the performance has left feeling like no matter who you are you can do something on a micro level to care for the earth.
When we perform, I just want people to feel that same adrenaline and hopefulness that I feel every time I leave the rehearsal. It kind of feels like a collective music therapy. I think music has that way of transcending personal differences and bringing people together and I’ve never really experienced something quite this special. Earthalujah!
