Introducing the Sing Me Home Festival

Our mission:  An intergenerational cultural celebration emerging at the crossroads of music, social justice, and spirituality. Serving to restore and inspire the heart, mind, and soul.  

The music you hear in the festival trailer video is Laurel Premo’s rendition of “Till the Warfare is Over” off of her album, “The Iron Trios.” As she released this song last Fall she shared, “When I first encountered the hymn at a Sacred Harp singing, the meaning of the original lyrics hit me hard. The few lyrics are a pledge to walk with gods’ children, to talk with them, and to pray on, until the warfare is over. “Till the Warfare is Over” is repeated over and over again.”  

What a moment we are living in. Even as we are in this uncertain and challenging new reality we are finding ways to walk with each other, to talk with each other, to pray on. And we’re going to keep doing it over and over again. What was originally envisioned to be a celebratory gathering in October 2020 has radically transformed, evolved, and rooted down deep into what feels like a more resonant, spirit-filled space.  

If there ever was a moment to Sing Me Home, THIS IS IT.  

The Sing Me Home Festival is a partnership between the band, Friends with the Weather, and the Manchester Church of the Brethren. In the original proposal for the festival, the church community approved a modest amount of seed money to begin booking talent, launching pre-ticket sales, and pursuing additional sponsorship/grant funding as we headed towards our inaugural festival this October. These recent weeks have inspired us to completely reorient this timeline and create an experience unlike anything that we could’ve imagined just a couple weeks ago.  

As we all do our part to adhere to public health recommendations to minimize the spread of this virus, we will sing from living room to living room, from kitchen to kitchen, bedroom to bedroom, front porch to back yard, from our home to your home. The mission remains the same. However, we will be using the bulk of that seed money to create an online cultural experience of music, art, conversation, meditation, video, education, inspiration. We will be presenting 30 minute showcases of musicians, storytellers, activists, educators, preachers, poets, filmmakers, artists, comedians, farmers, podcasters, who are all grounded in & living out our mission in each of their own ways. Many of these sessions will be live, cultivating an opportunity to engage in real time with the broader community. Many of these sessions will speak directly to how we weather this Coronavirus crisis. Our hope is that all of the programming over the coming weeks will affirm the poignancy of our interconnectedness and inspire a renewed commitment to living in right relationship with each other and the earth.  

Thank you for supporting our efforts with your financial contribution. With your financial support we will:  

1. Provide generous stipends to all of our online programming leadership. This is an incredibly difficult time for so many people including many artists, musicians, nonprofit organizations, and small businesses - yet we need their voices and services more than ever. Beyond the initial stipend, we will make sure viewers/listeners know other ways to engage and support the important work of our Sing Me Home presenters.  

2. Continue to organize and prepare for the inaugural in-person Sing Me Home Festival. We invite you to save the date for October, 9-11, 2020. We will be monitoring the path of the virus closely, following public health recommendations, and prioritizing health and safety in all of our plans. If it works out to gather this Fall, what a wonderful, joyous moment that will be! If not, we will keep you posted as we plan and discern when that first in-person gathering will take place.  

We know that times are tough for so many people. This success of this campaign will be largely due to folks like you sharing the word with your friends and family. Whether you're able to support financially or not, please share this campaign and the online programming with your community and find us on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and Twitter. We hope that this offering can serve as a source of comfort, healing, and hope as we seek new ways to be in community.  

Thank you so much for your interest and support. Sending love and encouragement to you and yours.  

Chris Good and Seth Hendricks, Sing Me Home Festival Co-Coordinators