Jun 22-29: Song Smorgasbord!

Here's a buffet of song possibilities this week.  Join us for one or all!   

• Mon, Jun 22 - Retrain Your Lizard Brain
• Wed, Jun 24 - Protecting Sacred Lands
• Thu, Jun 25 - Online* Song Leader Training 101: For Social Action
• Fri, Jun 26 - Songs for Tending Our Hearts
• Mon, Jun 29 - Singing for Liberation

More details about each under each image.  

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Retrain Your Lizard Brain:  Somatic Singing for Trauma Awareness + Resilience

Mon, Jun 22, 6:30-8:30p (not Jun 25 🤦)
Location: New City Center, near 31st + Bloomington, Mpls.
With Good Trouble.  

😷

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Protecting Sacred Lands:  Song Circle + Meeting

Wed, Jun 24, 6:30-8:30p 

Location: Creekside UCC, I-35W + Diamond Lake Rd, Mpls.

With The Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery, Music That Makes Community, Center for Sustainable Justice, and Singing Resistance TC. 

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Online Songleader Training 101: for Social Action

Thu, Jun 25, 6-8p CT 

Location:  Online

with Music That Makes Community. 

Register: https://www.musicthatmakescommunity.org/virtual_101_20260625

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Songs for Tending Our Hearts: a song circle for grief and the weight of the weary world

Fri, Jun 26, 7:30-9p 

Location: Yess Yoga, near 26th + Nicollet, Mpls. 

With Good Trouble. 

Register: https://www.yessyogastudio.com/yoga-workshops/

 

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Bonus!!!

Singing for Liberation: Monthly Songleader Incubator Circle

Mon, Jun 29, 6:30-8:30p 

Location: CTUL, near George Floyd Square, Mpls. 

Open to new/experienced songleaders, drummers, and all singers!

With Good Trouble. 

 

*Dec 4*: Retrain Your Lizard Brain

What: Retrain Your Lizard Brain: Somatic Singing for Trauma Awareness and Resilience
When: Thu, Sept 25, Nov 11, *Dec 4*, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Where: New City Center for Healing Justice, 3104 16th Ave S, Minneapolis

How do we rewire our brains from the lies the domination system baked into us? How can we uproot and compost the harms from patriarchy, capitalism, ableism, oppression ugh ugh ugh and root down instead into our dignity, worth, and interconnectedness?

Singing is one way to start rewiring your brain and helping your body live into a different story. One breath at a time, one phrase at a time, repeated over and over in community, til we live and sing our way into a new way of being together, belonging to one another.

This isn’t singing for performance or perfection; this is singing for healing and connection. We’d love you to join us.

Suggested donation $10-50; No one turned away for lack of funds, we want you there.

What to bring with you: 

- A mask!  Those pesky viruses are still going around!  Keep everyone in your community safe.

- Water to drink!

- A yoga mat and/or seating that works for you.  This work invites full body participation so bring items that will support you being on the floor and on your feet.  Chairs are available for those who need them.

Sept 25: Retrain Your Lizard Brain at New City

What:  Retrain Your Lizard Brain: Somatic Singing for Trauma Awareness and Resilience

When:  Thu, Sept 25, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Where: New City Center for Healing Justice, 3104 16th Ave S, Minneapolis 

How do we rewire our brains from the lies the domination system baked into us? How can we uproot and compost the harms from patriarchy, capitalism, ableism, oppression ugh ugh ugh and root down instead into our dignity, worth, and interconnectedness?

Singing is one way to start rewiring your brain and helping your body live into a different story. One breath at a time, one phrase at a time, repeated over and over in community, til we live and sing our way into a new way of being together, belonging to one another.

This isn’t singing for performance or perfection; this is singing for healing and connection. We’d love you to join us.

Suggested donation $10-50; No one turned away for lack of funds, we want you there.

*May 13*: Retrain Your Lizard Brain

What: Retrain Your Lizard Brain: Somatic Singing for Trauma Awareness and Resilience
When: Tuesday, April 15 + May 13, 2025, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Where: New City Center, 3104 16th Ave S, Minneapolis
Register: Eventbrite.  Sliding scale.  

Masks up please!

See details from previous events here.  

We welcome walk-in registration, so come even if the Eventbrite is closed.  You can make a donation on Minnesota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute's GiveMN site with a note "Lizard Brain" and the date.   

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Mar 27: Retrain Your Lizard Brain in St. Paul

 

What:  Retrain Your Lizard Brain: Somatic Singing for Trauma Awareness and Resilience

When:  Thursday, March 27, 2025, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Where:  Dendros Group, University Ave, St. Paul

Register:  Eventbrite

Setlist from October 10: Retrain Your Lizard Brain

Here are the songs we sang at the Thursday evening, October 10, 2024 Retrain Your Lizard Brain: Somatic Singing for Trauma Awareness + Resilience at Walker/New City Church. Enjoy the links to online recordings for your at-home remembering pleasure!

• May My Voice (Samara Jade)
• What are we gonna do with all this grief (main lyric from Prentis Hemphill’s book, “What It Takes to Heal,” tune by Liz with melodic frame influenced by Ana Hernandez’s “Set it right again”, Black Blues + Spirituals, and Whiskey Shivers’ “Who’s gonna dig these graves”)
• Stone by stone (Taya Ma)
• I am connected (Beautiful chorus) - and YouTube
• I am free in my body (Shireen Amini) - teaching parts at The Bird Sings

Here are some of the Resources we promised to share:

• About the Card Decks: Having a tangible tool to sit with and reflect our feelings back to us helps us slow down, process, and make space for emotional work and intentions we otherwise tend to ignore. We typically spread out two: the Rest Deck by Tricia Hersey and the Artist Grief Deck, made by hospice workers in the pandemic.
• Instruments we use: 
• CajonTab by Louson Drum - Conie has a 12" CajonTab; Liz has one of the Pro series. Get to know a bit of the cajon's musical history here. Use Liz's affiliate link to get 10% off!
• Shruti Box, literally "sound" or "singing" in ancient Sankrit, replicates the sound of the Tambura, an East Asian Indian drone instrument. Part of the family of drone instruments that show up in many cultures, related to bagpipes and harmoniums. Conie's instrument is from Shrutibox.com run by Ron Kravitz of https://www.musicinthemoment.com/ in Philadelphia, PA.

Thank you to the crew who jumped in to retrain their lizard brain! The right people were there, tenderness, grit, and support were shared. Community was tended. This is part of the world we're working towards!

Many thanks to Mni'sota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute for offering the amazing Strategies for Trauma Awareness & Resilience (STAR) training that Liz and Conie took in June 2023 and to being interested in partnering with us when we expressed interest in offering a hands-on offering. Please checkout their offerings and consider taking a webinar or the full training.

We're planning to make this session monthly because the work of Trauma Awareness and Resiliency is long and slow! Stay tuned for details by signing up for the In-person Singing and/or the Good Trouble Songleaders newsletters

Keep singing and stay warm, hydrated and creative!

Love, Liz and Conie, a.k.a. Good Trouble

*Dec 12*: Retrain Your Lizard Brain sessions for Fall 2024

What: Retrain Your Lizard Brain: Somatic Singing for Trauma Awareness + Resilience
When: Selected Thursdays, 6:30-8:30 p.m. 

     Dates:  October 10, November 14, December 12, 2024

Where: Walker/New City Church,
     3104 16th Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55407 (map)
With: Minnesota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute and GOOD TROUBLE

REGISTER HERE: Eventbrite

How do we find our way through personal, cultural, and systemic trauma towards resilience? Our culture is honestly pretty terrible at having community rhythms to process this and tools to live towards growth. Singing and somatic practice are one container offering a space to practice working through our grief, pain, and conflict towards finding joy, courage and connection.

Inspired by the STAR* training, you’re invited to a monthly community song circle of simple songs, taught call and echo, and somatic practices to check in with how our bodies are processing. You don’t need to “be a singer” - we’re not singing to perform; we sing because it changes us.

Jul 9: Retrain Your Lizard Brain: Somatic Singing for Trauma Awareness + Resilience

What: Retrain Your Lizard Brain: Somatic Singing for Trauma Awareness + Resilience
When: Tuesday, July 9, 2024, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Where: Walker/New City Church,
3104 16th Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55407 (map)
With: Minnesota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute and GOOD TROUBLE

REGISTER HERE: Eventbrite
Facebook event page 

How do we find our way through personal, cultural, and systemic trauma towards resilience?

Setlist from June 13 Retrain Your Lizard Brain

Here are the songs we sang at the second Retrain Your Lizard Brain: Somatic Singing for Trauma Awareness + Resilience at Walker/New City Church on Thursday evening, June 13, 2024. Enjoy the links to online recordings for your at-gome remembering pleasure!

• The Way Knows the Way (Lyndsey Scott)
• Do You Feel? Do You Heal? (Lu Aya Nephew, The Peace Poets + Deirdre Shabaaz)
• Put Your Roots Down (Molly Hartwell)
• Don’t numb to this (Abigail Bengson)
• You Are Safe Now* (Shireen Amini)
• Loosen, Loosen (Aly Halpert)
• Healing is Possible (Orion Johnstone)

* no online recording available. If you discover one, please let us know in the comments!

Here are some of the Resources we promised to share:

• About the Card Decks: Having a tangible tool to sit with and reflect our feelings back to us helps us slow down, process, and make space for emotional work and intentions we otherwise tend to ignore. In May we spread out the Rest Deck by Tricia Hersey and the Artist Grief Deck, made by hospice workers in the pandemic.
• Instruments we use: 
• CajonTab by Louson Drum - Conie has a 12" CajonTab; Liz has one of the Pro series. Get to know a bit of the cajon's musical history here. Use Liz's affiliate link to get 10% off!
• Shruti Box, literally "sound" or "singing" in ancient Sankrit, replicates the sound of the Tambura, an East Asian Indian drone instrument. Part of the family of drone instruments that show up in many cultures, related to bagpipes and harmoniums. Conie's instrument is from Shrutibox.com run by Ron Kravitz of https://www.musicinthemoment.com/ in Philadelphia, PA.

Thank you to the crew who jumped in to retrain their lizard brain!  The right people were there, tenderness, grit, and support were shared. Community was tended. This is part of the world we're working towards!

Many thanks to Mni'sota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute for offering the amazing Strategies for Trauma Awareness & Resilience (STAR) training that Liz and Conie took in June 2023 and to being interested in partnering with us when we expressed interest in offering a hand-on offering.  Please checkout their offerings and consider taking a webinar or the full training.

We're planning to make this session monthly because the work of Trauma Awareness and Resiliency is long and slow!  The next Retrain Your Lizard Brain session will likely be Thursday, July 9, 2024; stay tuned for details on this blog as they unfold or sign up for the In-person Singing and/or the Good Trouble Songleaders newsletters

Keep singing and stay warm, hydrated and creative!

Love, Liz and Conie, a.k.a. Good Trouble