Seeding Songs of Resistance

Join us in an exploration of sharing and creating music inviting connection, revolutionary joy, and solidarity.

About this Event

*** Meet at 12:45 at the Lincoln Rd. / Ocean Ave. entrance!

In times of great change, in moments of collective grief or courage, music can be a lifeline — a way to connect, to center, to uplift, to resist, and to sing ourselves towards justice.

Join us in Prospect Park for what we are calling Seeding Songs of Resistance: a free community gathering where we’ll sing, teach, share, and invite songs that can serve us in moments of action — marches, demonstrations, protests, and beyond. This is a space to practice leading, learning, and singing songs that can rise up when we need them most — songs that carry joy, solidarity, defiance, and power.

Whether you’ve led songs at protests before or are just beginning to find your voice in this kind of space, all are welcome. We'll hold space for experimentation, collaboration, and rootedness in the values Gaia holds dear.

Some of the principles guiding the song-spinning in this space (an ever-changing and incomplete list):

🌱Equity and Justice ~ how might we use our songs to raise our voices for equity, justice, diversity, and the protection of community that have been/are being marginalized, oppressed, disenfranchised, and persecuted?

🌱 Nature as teacher ~ what do the miraculous systems of the natural world have to teach us about cooperation, resilience, healing, and balance?

🌱 Compassion ~ how do we hold compassion for people we disagree with, while demanding for the transformation of unjust systems?

🌱Accountability as love ~ What if the direct, honest, potentially disruptive thing is the kind thing? What if disrupting the status quo can be an act of love?

🌱Contrary/complex truths ~ For example, discomfort + safety can live in the same room. There is light and shadow within each of us. What do these contrary truths have to teach us?

🌱Our words matter ~ And so we choose them with care and intention. Any time we sing a word, we etch it into our hearts. Hate cuts both ways. Love heals both ways. How might we craft non-violent lyrics that ring powerfully enough to move mountains?

Together, we’ll explore how the musical practices we nurture here at Gaia — presence, improvisation, empowerment, expression, and deep listening — might ripple outward in service of justice, liberation, and collective care.

Bring water, comfortable shoes, your big ideas, and your brave heart. Let’s sing for the world we’re building.

LED and FACILITATED BY:

Vocalist, educator, arranger, and vocal percussionist Tracy LJ Robertson enjoys working in a variety of musical settings. While studying at Berklee College of Music he performed in ensembles of global influence, from Balkan to contemporary Indian, to Latin, to western classical and jazz. He's since performed and recorded with a range of artists including Bobby McFerrin, Valerie Simpson, Justin Timberlake, Sabrina Carpenter, Andy Grammer, Michael Bublé and Billie Eilish. Meanwhile the acappella community has offered opportunity to tour and educate with groups like Pitch Slapped, Overboard, Vocalosity, m-pact, The Magnets, and The House Jacks. He is also supremely grateful to work and facilitate for organizations like the Urban Voices Project, his newest project - Vocal Bloom, and in more and more spaces where music and improvisation is explicitly supporting/instigating healing and empowerment. Tracy most enjoys the prayerful playing/ playful praying out of his life through music/collaboration, and ever deepening appreciation of mother nature.

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LOW-PRESSURE PARTICIPATION

Gaia Music Collective events are participatory, but low-pressure. You'll be invited to sing along and make music with us, but we encourage you to draw your own boundaries and engage at your own pace - we pride ourselves in creating a judgment-free community where you can express yourself however feels right!

LATE ARRIVALS

We ask that you arrive no later than 30 minutes after start time, after which we close the doors (lovingly) in order to preserve the intimacy and trust of the musical container we’re building. Thank you for understanding!

CANCELLATION POLICY

Tickets are refundable up to 24 hours before the event, after which we are no longer able to offer refunds. This policy helps us keep these events financially sustainable for both our community and our team. If you RSVP but are no longer able to come, please let us know so that we may offer your spot to someone else! We want as many people to be able to experience these gatherings as possible, and since capacity is limited, each spot is precious.

For more info, contact us at Z2FpYW11c2ljY29sbGVjdGl2ZSB8IGdtYWlsICEgY29t.

MEDIA CONSENT

Because we want to share what we’re up to with people who can’t join us in person, there may be photographers and videographers present — by attending, you consent to being a part of that media, some of which may be posted online! If you have any questions or concerns, please email us at Z2FpYW11c2ljY29sbGVjdGl2ZSB8IGdtYWlsICEgY29t.

NO ONE TURNED AWAY FOR LACK OF FUNDS

Gaia is funded by sliding scale ticket donations, with a “no one turned away for lack of funds” policy. It is of the utmost importance to us that these events remain affordable and accessible - we never want money to be a barrier to making music together. If a ticket scale is financially prohibitive to you, feel free to donate outside of the scale at whatever amount is sustainable for you, or to email us at Z2FpYW11c2ljY29sbGVjdGl2ZSB8IGdtYWlsICEgY29t for volunteer opportunities or assistance!

COMMUNITY GUIDELINES

At Gaia Music Collective, we are dedicated to building a community where creativity, collaboration, and care thrive. The values listed here shape how we work together, how we engage with the world, and how we move toward upholding these principles.

OUR MISSION

Gaia Music Collective is an NYC-based creative community seeking to foster a more connected world through collective music-making. Founded in June of 2021 in a living room in Brooklyn, this project was born out of a desire to create accessible, inclusive, playful spaces for people to explore connection, expression, healing, and release through collaborative song - spaces where folks feel empowered to make music free of judgment or expectation, and to make new friends as our full, beautiful, authentic selves.

We believe that communal music-making is a fundamental human practice, and this project seeks to build spaces for folks to nurture their relationship to music, whether they're shower singers, professional musicians, or anything in between.

All are welcome in this community. Gaia seeks to foster spaces of belonging for humans of all ages, races, genders, sexual orientations, classes, religions, abilities, national origins, languages, and musical experiences. All we ask is that you bring an open mind, a desire to connect, and a willingness to leave judgment of self and others at the door.

FAQ

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