ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWX
1
PEOPLES MUSIC NETWORK FOR SONGS OF FREEDOM AND STRUGGLE
2
2026 Summer Gathering - May 29-31 - Groton, MA and online
3
4
SCHEDULE (subject to change)
5
Note: "(REC)" means session will be recorded
6
7
Friday, May 29th
8
4:00 - 9:00 pmRegistration Open - Dining Hall Lobby
9
4:15 - 5:30Welcoming Song Circle: Greet and Sing - Dining Hall Side Room
10
Sarah Pirtle and Sarah Underhill
11
4:30 - 5:45 Pick-Up Chorus - Chapel
12
Elise Bryant
13
5:45 - 6:30Shabbat for Peace (in-person) - Dining Hall Side Room or picnic area. This is an opportunity for anyone who wants to (you don't have to be Jewish) to gather before dinner on Friday night to sing some songs, enjoy some community, light the candles, bless the wine and eat some challah. Emphasis will be placed on inclusivity. We will sing for peace and justice for all and begin the weekend with some sweet connections. Friday Night Kaballat Shabbat and social shmooze (Zoom). Kaballat Shabbat is a Jewish Friday night tradition of inviting people (Jewish or not) to take a pause, breathe out the business of the week and breathe in the potential for slowing down on the weekend. We pair this with an invitation to all online gathering attendees to join together for some social time before the formal program starts.
14
Mara Sapon-Shevin
Louise Ina Hetzler and Eric Law
15
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87867699098?pwd=lyoRBXfe5AXxM2L8Wq1CPdgzWFYQay.1

Password: PMN
16
6:00 - 7:30Dinner - Dining Room (note: dinner will be kept available for latecomers)
17
7:30 - 8:30Friday Night Welcome - Dining Room - Hybrid (in-person and Zoom) Zoom Link: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/88570156414?pwd=XmEfm6lgGisvVNGqVR2wLLtc49svfI.1
18
8:30 - 10:30Round Robin Collaborative Concert, Part 1 - Dining Room - Hybrid (in-person and Zoom) (REC) Zoom Link: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/88570156414?pwd=XmEfm6lgGisvVNGqVR2wLLtc49svfI.1
19
10:30 - ?Campfire Song Swap
20
21
Saturday, May 30th
22
7:30 - 9:15 amBreakfast - Dining Room
23
8:00 - 10:00Registration Open - Dining Hall Lobby
24
8:30 - 9:15Opening Ceremony - Dining Room - Hybrid (in-person and Zoom)
25
Music and introductions to get the day started.
26
Link: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/87354090314?pwd=DhFDDnHGInWHfVx8kHUQftigmWoRVA.1
27
Workshop #1A) Dining Room - Hybrid (in-person and Zoom)B) ChapelC) PrescottZ) Zoom
28
9:30 - 11:00After the Last CD Player DiesMalvina ReynoldsBridging Differences with MusicBring A Song Songswap!
29
Charlie King, Chris OwensSarah Underhill & Dave TarloAdele Rolider and Sarah PirtleJoanie Calem
30
Panel Discussion (REC)Song SwapWorkshopSong Swap (REC)
31
Link: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/87527133067?pwd=OYPI0fdTBCLRejJw5peXHPwJofLkO7.1Link: https://zoom.us/j/8594657299
32
Workshop #2A) Dining Room - Hybrid (in-person and Zoom)B) ChapelC) PrescottZ) Zoom
33
11:15 am - 12:45 pmSongs in the Spirit of RecoveryBeyond the BinaryWoody GuthrieOnline Musical Communities
34
Huayra ForsterMara Sapon-ShevinSteve SuffetJohn Closs & Lucas Meyer
35
WorkshopSong SwapSong Swap and JamWorkshop (REC)
36
Link: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/89948308517?pwd=JRzdYfXEDdBV2tmqLdDSXYDKkUGjBn.1Link: https://zoom.us/j/8594657299
37
12:45 - 1:45Lunch - Dining Room
38
39
1:45 - 2:45Community Gathering / Membership Meeting - Hybrid (in-person and Zoom)
40
Link: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/83713558084?pwd=nBqlqvJHf5n5hEp60hp8be0P6ebS3C.1
41
Workshop #3A) Dining Room - Hybrid (in-person and Zoom)B) ChapelC) PrescottZa) ZoomZb) Zoom
42
3:00 - 4:30Remembering Phil OchsMen’s SongswapWomen’s SongswapIntro to Video EditingSo You Wanna Make a Record
43
Joel Landy and Sonny OchsBen TousleySarah PirtleLucas MeyerEric Law & Dan Cole
44
Presentation (REC)Song SwapSong SwapWorkshop (REC)Workshop (REC)
45
Link: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/88161892738?pwd=abWgaZonOgrFKEbVOin08f9miCDb01.1Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82632673390?pwd=aKgBZkXn66wgzfWpA5uBWg4awbD2xj.1Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85213902386?pwd=psaJZ41QOiyI9EXhabecuyL7QGiCL8.1
46
Password: PMN
47
4:45 - 6:00Plenary: In These Hard Times There Will Always Be Singing - Hybrid (in-person and zoom) (REC)
48
Marcie Boyd, Lisa Gallatin, Elise Bryant, Gary Allard, Jan Maier
49
50
Link: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/81111441169?pwd=Mls6YOdhrkD5wkfJIh8wDzUwEqGLN4.1
51
52
6:15 - 7:30Dinner - Dining Room
53
54
7:45 - midnightRound Robin Collaborative Concert, Part 2 - Hybrid (in-person and Zoom) (REC)
55
56
Link: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/82077167651?pwd=DCqQe8fFn06ahp7Wurau22iOm5e2oo.1
57
58
Sunday, May 31st
59
7:30 - 8:45 amBreakfast - Dining Room
60
61
Workshop #4A) Dining RoomB) ChapelC) PrescottZ) ZoomZ) Zoom
62
9:00 - 10:30Songs of the SpiritHoops of HopeSongwritingSongs for the PlanetSongs of the Spirit
63
Nyanna Susan TobinJudy GormanLouise Ina HetzlerJoanie Calem
64
Communal SingingFolk Arts/StorytellingWorkshopSong Swap (REC)Communal Singing (REC)
65
Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88352875018?pwd=orzgbRpTcGa0ShSITGHO9re4kne0yu.1Link: https://zoom.us/j/8594657299
66
67
Workshop #5A) Dining Room - Hybrid (in-person and Zoom)B) ChapelC) PrescottZ) ZoomZ) Zoom
68
10:45 am - 12:15 pmWriting Short Songs for the Streets (Collaborative Songwriting)If I Had A SongIf I Had A Song
Music for Community Healing, Strengthening, & Empowering
69
Elise BryantTerry KitchenEric LawFreedome Nsoroma Lee-El
70
Workshop (REC)Songwriting WorkshopSongwriting Workshop RECWorkshop (REC)
71
Link: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/89793254429?pwd=TI0TFt774ATdJYTviZMQ26fGvfnOTV.1Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89470962395?pwd=ZY3oEWNExirNlScAY8rWYaki5s7VBE.1Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2335145500?pwd=Z3BmcHEvWWRmQmZsUzVSL1gzNVFVUT09&omn=81830015014
72
Password: PMN
73
12:15 - 1:30Lunch - Dining Room
74
1:30 - 2:00Closing Ceremony - Dining Room
75
2:00 - 2:30Clean Up
76
77
Workshop Descriptions
78
Saturday May 30, Workshop #1: 9:30 - 11:00 am
79
80
1A) After the Last CD Player Dies - Charlie King & Chris Owens
Dining Hall and Zoom
81
For those of us who are still recording our songs, what are the ways of marketing recordings as the age of CDs is waning? Streaming? Vinyl? Downloads? Giveaways or pay what you can? Share knowledge of how to distribute/market your recorded music.
82
83
1B) Malvina Reynolds Song Swap - Sarah Underhill & Dave Tarlo
Chapel
84
Sing and share the delightful, quirky and hard hitting songs of this phenomenal songwriter, known as “Mama Lion” among other epithets, who is well known for songs such as “Little Boxes”, “What Have They Done to the Rain”, “Turn Around”, and “God Bless the Grass”.
85
86
1C) Bridging Differences with Music - Adele Rolider & Sarah Pirtle
Prescott
87
In this workshop we will share songs that offer a bridge across differences: songs that serve as an open window. Some of these songs may include: those that acknowledge and respect people's vulnerabilities, that touch the heart and invite reflection, instead of knee-jerk reactions, and that deal with politically charged and powerful topics. This is a workshop where we can engage each other in political thought and discussion and allow each of us to reach our own conclusions. If you like, you can say a bit about how and why you wrote the song you share. You can also bring a song that was written by someone else. To create a safer space for participation, we ask people to arrive on time. We hope this workshop will help us all get clearer about what songs can serve as bridges, and to inform and inspire folks to keep writing and sharing such songs.
88
89
1Z) Bring a Song! Songswap - Joanie Calem
Zoom
90
A musical potpourri! Has a particular song been on your mind lately? We'll take turns sharing - and see what comes out, whether poignant, funny, evocative or all of the above.
91
92
Saturday May 30, Workshop #2: 11:15 am - 12:45 pm
93
94
2A) Songs in the Spirit of Recovery - Huayra Forster
Dining Hall and Zoom
95
In the music world, there have been so many lives lost to drug addictions. In the hall of fame of music museums, are rockstars that took their own lives, or who died at or before the age of 27. With mindfulness of those eras, creating a recovery element for those who had not let their spirit shine fully, and been supported, this is a session to exchange songs for recovery, and as a tool for social justice. The session will be gathering people who are interested in expressing their music through calmness and in response to spirit, which is often conveyed as the breath of living. There are many levels of recovery conveyed through song. There are songs about the importance of rest, and the importance of connection with nature, and ones that also express anger, or the inability to cope, and so much more than just drug addictions. Based on an interest in anonymous participation, the decision to make the session live and not record it, has been made.
96
Context: This is my first time doing a workshop with PMN. Recovery has been an over ten year collective effort by Native nations along with reclaiming pre-american goals of wellness. The orientation that I bring to organizing this workshop is through singing chants and practicing rounds in favor of calling on spirits that will help in recovery for many types of issues.
97
98
2B) Beyond the Binary: Songs that break the gender and sexuality boundaries - Mara Sapon-Shevin
Chapel
99
This is a song swap in the spirit of the LGBTQ+/Queer song swaps of the past. Participants will be asked to share songs that challenge rigid and exclusive concepts of gender and sexuality. These songs may include those that tell the story of people who have disrupted non-inclusive ways of being and labeling ourselves, and songs that poke fun at old and dysfunctional ways of portraying gender and sexuality (like "It's only a wee wee"). Humorous and serious songs are all welcomed.
100