breathonthewater

“Fire in the Commons” formed in the winter of 2018 as an intergenerational music group committed to empowering people through powerful, original songs. We perform in concerts, rallies, churches and wherever people gather to work for solidarity, freedom, peace,  safeguarding the commons or simply lifting spirits with a joyful roar. They aim to bridge cultures and build community with music that moves people to sing and songs that move them to act. We take inspiration from troubadours like Pete Seeger and Violeta Parra and change agents like Sweet Honey in the Rock, Emma’s Revolution, Will I Am and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. We use a mix of strong acapella arrangements and spare but powerful instrumentation with guitar, bones, conchs and drums.  Our lyrics deal with topics like climate change, war, peace, diversity, immigration, consumerism, hope, community building and ecological stewardship.  Members this year included Kristina Swanson, Chester Hardina-Blanchette, Ali Fahrquahr, Gray Cox, and Hannah Miller,  and (not pictured here) Felipe Fontecilla Gutierrez, Sarah Emigh-Doyle, Jai Temple and Lila Schrock.

Samples of our songs can be seen on Youtube or heard on Bandcamp at:

“Comin’ Like a Hurricane” — https://youtu.be/ObLKRxISAB

“350 To Save the Sky” — https://graycox.bandcamp.com/track/350-to-save-the-sky

“Someone to Hold” — https://youtu.be/ImJPHxDACos

“Todos Somos Otros” — https://youtu.be/5WRfUog4ZT4

“She’ll Be Ridin’ on a Donkey” — https://youtu.be/tSj1fB_d43A

An Air for Buddhists and Other Animals (Breath on the Water) – https://graycox.bandcamp.com/track/breath-on-the-water

Other songs are available at: https://graycox.bandcamp.com/ For more information or to contact us for a performance, write or call Gray Cox at gray@coa.edu or #207-460-1163.

Performances this spring included:

3/2       Featured Group at the First Friday Coffee House at North East Harbor Library

3/9       Concert at the Jesup Memorial Library

3/16      Concert at the Unitarian Universalist Church for fund raising for Unitarian Youth attending a UN Conference on Immigration

4/17     Music for the annual War Tax Resistance Rally in Portland, Maine, at Lobsterman Park

5/11    Performance at Beyond the Whale Skull at College of the Atlantic – broadcast on Channel Five in Portland at: http://www.ctn5.org/shows/member-highlights/member-highlight-maine-war-tax-resistance-day-12725