In the third installment of songs inspired by the Minnesota Uprising, the songs are harvested from Minnesota, Nashville, Bethlehem, PA, and the Southern coast of England. All four musicians and songs you'll be hearing are energy & affirmation for the valiant community of the Twin Cities of Minnesota, and a spotlight on the vile government force the community has stood up against. Billy Bragg has a few decades of resisting the system under his belt, reaching all the way across the Atlantic Ocean.

Today we're sharing part 2 of songs inspired by the Minnesota Uprising, and today's songs were birthed in West Virginia, Georgia, and North Carolina, highlighting the heart & spirit threads that knit the diverse regions of our country together with a shared passion and activism. Chris Haddox is a musician, but also an Associate Professor of Sustainable Design at West Virginia University.

Today we're looking at the Minnesota Uprising through the alchemy of music. Watching the events taking place in Minnesota, just next door to Wisconsin, has been both horrifying and inspirational. Watching the deaths of folks like Renee Nicole Good, Alex Pretti, and others has been frightening, but seeing how tens of thousands of common folks pulling together for their neighbors has been beautiful to watch. And there is rarely any better way to bring people together than music, so today, and also next week, we bring you newly-inspired songs birthed by the Minnesota Uprising.

We've had Annie Patterson as a guest many times on NSR programs, but today we're going full-spectrum on Annie. She's known by many as a folk singer and the co-creator of the group singing songbooks, Rise Up Singing and Rise Again, but she also performs a variety of music genres like swing, blues, soul, gospel and more with groups like Dear Ella and Girls from Mars, and others.

Brad Wolf has just released the book, A Ministry of Risk – Writings on Peace and Nonviolence – Philip Berrigan, powerfully capturing the life and ministry of Phil, in Phil's own words, his witness in the struggle for racial justice, against the Vietnam war and all wars, and against nuclear arms through the Plowshares movement.

Will Fudeman's musical muse is very strongly connected to his hopes, prayers, & vision for the world. Having worked as a social worker & therapist, he is currently doing healing work with Eastern arts including acupuncture & Qi Gong. Will completes his lifework with his music, which he performs on guitar & mandolin. Spiritually/philosophically fueled by both his Jewish Identity and Taoist leanings, he sings with meaning and a promise of hope. Will has performed with a number of artists, including Cayuga Klezmer Revival. Find Will's 3 CDs on CDBaby.

Phil Hoose writes songs that we all love and that other performers love to perform. His best-known, Hey, Little Ant, is a song, but also a book that has sold over 1 million copies in 10 languages. With a quirky eye for seeing the world differently, his songs intrigue, amuse, & enchant. An employee of The Nature Conservancy for decades, and the author of more than 10 books, including the inspirational Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, Phil's awards include the John Newbery Medal, Sibert Medal, and the National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

She's never just one (musical) thing. As the co-creator of the immensely popular group-singing songbook, Rise Up Singing, and its sequel, Rise Again, Annie Patterson has one foot securely rooted in the folk music world. Annie must have several feet, because she also has feet well-planted in diverse musical genres, like blues, swing, and jazz.

Song of the Soul broadcast retrospective of a simpler, less COVID-19, time, one year ago, in 2019, with Victoria Shoemaker (Bewitching), Kora Feder (Painting the Sky with Music), Peter Phippen (Living Music, Sacred Flute), Ira Levin of The Levins (Harmonizing With Lamed Vavniks, Hafiz, & The Gita), Sally Rogers (Happy 100th Birthday Pete Seeger), Pat Humphries of Emma's Revolution (Pete Seeger's Last Songs), Charlie King (Pete Seeger's Last Songs), and Annie Patterson (Pete Seeger's Last Songs).

Pat Humphries of Emma's Revolution was at Pete Seeger's bedside as he died, singing to him. Pat and Sandy O of Emma's Revolution, along with Sally Rogers, Charlie King, Annie Patterson, and Peter Blood, join in the post-intermission part of a concert to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Pete Seeger's birth, held April 27th in Northampton, MA, at the Unitarian Society, as a benefit for Climate Action Now MA, part of a wealth of events for the 100th anniversary.