Saturday, May 30, 2020

Lara Downes performs "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free" (3:11)

Lara Downes

Lara Downes writes:

From my house to yours...
I hope you’re safe and well, taking care of yourselves and each other. I miss you all.
This has been a terrible week in a series of terrible weeks. I know we're all struggling amidst so much hurt and suffering. I'm just holding on to good and meaningful work, trying to help where I can, and to use this as a time to reflect, reimagine and rebuild.

Today, NPR Music is sharing a Tiny Desk Concert that I filmed at home during quarantine, featuring some music from my new album Some Of These Days
WATCH  

During this sad time, I admit to feeling sometimes helpless. But I won't be hopeless. This music - freedom songs and Spirituals  - testifies to our human capacity for hope, action, and survival against all odds. NPR's Ann Powers describes the album this way: This lyrical, evocative set un-starches the musical artifacts of African-American uplift. The pianist approaches spirituals, hymns and legacy pieces with a passion grounded in the knowledge that history is personal: each interpretation deeply reckons with what made her.”  (NPR's Top Albums of April)

>From the album booklet, artwork by 7th grade student Emily Juarez from Watts, Los Angeles:



I believe with all my heart that Emily and her generation will bring our world to a better place. This summer, with the support of the Sphinx Organization, and in partnership with University of California ArtsBridge, I'm expanding My Promise Project as a national online platform for young people to harness their potential and their creativity as they reimagine the future and prepare to emerge as its leaders.

Free summer workshops begin June 22 for students age 12-18. Information / Signups HERE 
http://www.laradownes.com/my-promise-project

And next week, I'm launching a new series called THE BEDTIME SESSIONS. Every Friday, starting June 5, I'll be releasing a lullaby to soothe you into sleep and peaceful dreams. I know we’re all dealing with stress and trauma, and I hope that this eclectic collection of lovely, intimate pieces will help you rest. Sign up HERE to get a new streaming track every Friday. 
I'm just thinking about gratitude and responsibility. I'm so grateful for my health, my family, the love that surrounds and supports me, and for the music that even now, in this time of isolation and division, keeps us connected. And I think that we all have a responsibility to love each other, to do our own version of service, to raise our voices for what's right, and above all to hold on to our hope. I do believe that together we shall overcome, that we can emerge from this darkness brighter and better, stronger and wiser, some of these days...
I'm sending you all my love-



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