Editor’s note: The author of this piece sings with the Joyful Resistance Choir.
Amidst the chaos of political discourse and everyday life, people in Minneapolis gathered to use their voice for hope, peace, and to bring some joy back into the world. Led by women, the Minneapolis Resistance Choir grew and news spread about their incredible act of protest. A few weeks back, I found them while I was scrolling on Instagram and thought, “Wow, I want to be a part of that.” Well, lucky for me I mentioned this to local singer and songwriter Natalie Spears who informed me that our lovely Roaring Fork Valley has a resistance choir of our own: The Joyful Resistance Choir, organized and founded by Emma Keiran Schaffer and continued with Katia Galambos.
From Parachute to Aspen, this group is calling all to join in, take action, and have a little fun through singing.
“Singing is a natural human behavior,” the organization said through its Instagram account, @singingresistancecowestslope. “Here, we unlearn the need to be ‘perfect’ at singing and recover how to sing simply for joy and connection.”
I had no clue how many people were a part of this singing movement, and it turns out there are thousands all across the country. There is a toolkit and song book included in the Singing Resistance linketree, linktr.ee/singingresistance, so anyone can access, learn and teach these resistance songs. The local chapter, Joyful Resistance Choir, usually meets on Sundays at the Third Street Center in Carbondale.
One of the best parts about living in this gorgeous mountain valley is how the community supports the arts. Well, this is the arts supporting the community.
“People want to sing!” Spears said in our conversation about the singing movement.
She noted that many people ask her about voice lessons and that she thinks “everyone can sing” they “just [want] a reason to feel connected and [singing] would fill that void.”
We went on to talk about how the collective voice is powerful, spiritual, and is not something that can be taken away. Community singing is a great access point for anyone wanting to participate in advocacy.
Life is better in community and art is one of the best examples of this. We come together in dance, art, song, and all other forms of human expression. Music is powerful; it creates frequencies that resonate in our bodies even after a song ends. Because of this, there is real power and strength in the collective voice. It is encouraging to know that you do not have to consider yourself a “good” singer to lend your voice to that strength. All voices are needed and welcomed.
Some of these singing groups stand outside of ICE locations and sing of hope, forgiveness, and love. With lyrics like “It’s okay to change your mind,” these singers are creating the opportunity for ICE agents to listen, reflect, and change their behavior. These singers are teaching us that it is never too late to do better for your community and for yourself. There is no shame in redirecting negative energy into positive energy. When singing in a group, there is spiritual energy created that ignites positive action.
Make the choice to operate out of love instead of fear. People in power want to separate us, divide us, and make us fear community. Why? Because that is where creation, love, innovation, solution, and much more is born. We will not grow out of fear, hate, and individualism –– we will grow from the collective, community, forgiveness, and understanding.
Follow @singingresistancecowestslope (singing resistance co west slope) on Instagram or reach out to katiagalambos@gmail.com to get updates on meetings and the group.
Join the Joyful Resistance Choir, as well as the Ragging Grannies and other singers, at the No Kings protest on March 28 in Glenwood Springs at Sayre Park.