Littleton: Activist singer/songwriting and folk music icons, Sally Rogers, Claudia Schmidt and Emma’s Revolution join together for their second “Every Day is Mother’s Day Tour,” with a concert at First Church Unitarian on May 4 at 7pm. Tickets are $25 in advance; $30 at the door.  Visit https://tinyurl.com/EveryDayisMothersDay2024 to get yours.
This is the second year of the “Every Day is Mother’s Day Tour” to celebrate women’s voices (we ALL have mothers!). The performers are excited to share the stage again to create powerful four-part harmonies to, as Pat says, “Lift up mothers and foremothers, trail blazers and hell raisers of all kinds.” Sally adds, “The actions we can take and the songs we can sing to make this world a better place are the focus of our lives’ work and will take center stage in these concerts.”
Claudia Schmidt and Sally Rogers have been perfecting their craft of performing for over four decades, both as solo artists and as a duo. Claudia’s is a quirky and wonderful hodge-podge (her word!) of music, poetry, story, laughter, drama, and celebrating the moment. Work in clubs, theaters, festivals, TV, radio has added depth and dimension, and since she has always included her original work along with very personal versions of the work of others, what you get is a unique look at the world from someone who says what she sees with clarity, humor, and wonder. The San Francisco Bay Guardian said: “Schmidt’s shows are a lot like falling in love. You never know what’s going to happen next, chances are it’s going to be wonderful, every moment is burned into your memory and you know you’ll never be the same again.” More succinctly, Garrison Keillor said, “When Claudia sings a song, it stays sung.”
Sally Rogers began her career as a full-time touring musician in 1979, after encouragement from Stan Rogers, the legendary Canadian singer-songwriter.  That was followed by an invitation from Garrison Keillor to appear on A Prairie Home Companion.  She appeared more than a dozen times on that show, which launched her performing career.  Her travels have since taken her to Europe, China, Hungary and Poland, England and Scotland and across the United States.  Her concerts enfold the audience in the music as they are encouraged to join in throughout the evening.  Her gorgeous singing voice, boundless energy and good humor are welcomed from coast to coast.  Her songs are featured in the Unitarian and Quaker Hymnals and national school music textbooks. They are also sung by community groups in pub sings and by children on the playground.
Known for fearless, truth-telling lyrics and melodies you can’t resist singing, Emma’s Revolution is the award-winning activist duo of Pat Humphries & Sandy O. Now in their 22nd year, the duo writes songs about critical issues happening in the world, lending their voices to the movements those issues inspire and delivering moving, uplifting performances. Emma’s Revolution’s songs have travelled around the world and have been praised by Pete Seeger, covered by Holly Near, featured on NPR’s All Things Considered and Pacifica’s Democracy Now!, and sung around the world.
A feature documentary, KEEP ON MOVING FORWARD, is being made about Emma’s Revolution, their songs and their work on the frontlines of peace and social justice movements by award-winning independent filmmaker, Tom Weidlinger. Tom has been writing, directing and producing documentary films for 35 years; many of his films have won festival awards and 25 have aired nationally on public television. The film is expected to be released in 2026. For more information, visit emmasrevolution.com.