Wow!”  “Breathtaking!” “I wish I had heard music like that as a kid!”   These were just some of the reactions shared by those who attended the Larry Long and friends’ performance on August 17 at the Danish American Center, Minneapolis.  This was the first in a series of concerts entitled, “Music on the Mississippi” organized by Danish American Center members Scott Thomsen and Paul Juhl.

Larry Long, a local social activist and internationally known singing troubadour invited four other friends and local jazz performers to join him in a 90-minute concert: Scott Fultz-saxophone; Jacqueline Ultan-cello; Will Kjeer-piano; Billy Peterson-bass.   Regarded as one of the world’s top bassist, Billy Peterson has worked with numerous top musicians including being a member of the Steve Miller Band for over 20 years. And Will Kjeer has just received a full ride to The Juilliard School in New York. These are talented performers.  What a treat to have them at the DAC!

Most of the songs they played were composed by Long, some were performed for the first time.  Drawing from themes of nature that included butterflies, rivers and beauty, his life affirming lyrics could have come from a Grundtvig text.  The heartfelt piano, bass, sax and cello contributed to the intricate healing music for the soul.   Truly a night to remember.

Story by Diane Greve, Minnesota Local Editor

 

 

 

Over 95% of educators that have viewed Dodging Bullets—Stories from Survivors of Historical Trauma recommend the film to their peers.

Larry Long is the Executive Director of the award-winning indie film Dodging Bullets. The film honors the life-stories of First Nation survivors of Historical Trauma.    Historical Trauma is a term used by social workers and psychologists, it refers to the cumulative emotional and psychological wounding of a group of people caused by traumatic experiences.  This trauma is epigenetically passed down from one generation to another and causes health care problems in today’s generation. Learn more at the Dodging Bullets—Stories from Survivors of Historical Trauma website 

“It allows the non-Native audience to truly hear and see Historical Trauma and the pain without blatant finger pointing or going the other direction by making it more palatable for non-natives tastes”  – Kimberly Whitewater Wakjexiwigam, Community Supportive Services Division Director, HCN Social Services

“Dodging Bullets is a powerful and compelling documentary that revealed the injustices against Indigenous peoples… brilliantly wove together a positive path to healing through ceremony and cultural identity.”  – Rain L. Marshall, JD, (Ihanktonwan),  Lecturer, Humboldt State University

“Rarely has a film been able to fully capture the complexity of these contemporary social justice concerns caused by Intergenerational Trauma through historical accounts and personal narratives.”  – George S Leibowitz, PhD, Stony Brook University School of Medicine and Social Welfare

Larry Long composed and produced the audio single release and musical score for the award winning documentary music video No More Pipeline Blues (On This Land Where We Belong).

The featured artists on “No More Pipeline Blues (On This Land Where We Belong)” include in the order of their contributions within the song::

Winona LaDuke (Anishinaabe Ojibwe Nation); Waubanewquay (Anishinaabe Ojibwe Nation); Pura Fé (Tuscarora & Taíno Nations); Carmen (Soni) Moreno (Mayan, Apache & Yaqui Nations);  Jennifer Kreisberg (Tuscarora Nation); Day Sisters: Sharon Day, Julia Uleberg, Charlene Day-Castro, Dorene Day (Anishinaabe Ojibwe Nation); Mumu Fresh (Creek & Choctaw Nations); Indigo Girls (Amy Ray & Emily Saliers); Bonnie Raitt; and the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States Joy Harjo (Muscogee Creek Nation).

Master Audio & Mixing Engineer: Brett Huus, Sound Strations Studio. Mastering Engineer: Steve Wiese, Creation Audio, Studio A.  Music video directed and produced by Keri Pickett. Audio released by Rock the Cause – available on iTunes, Rhapsody, Apple and Bandcamp. 

All proceeds from both the music video and audio single benefit the environmental justice non-profit, Honor the Earth,

 “’No More Pipeline Blues’ beautifully illustrates in music, singing, spoken word and images the threats of a totally unnecessary tar sands pipeline at the end of the age of Big Oil. But it also illuminates the sacredness of our environment, and yet more destructive, historical impacts to Indigenous culture. Still, the song and the music video are also like prayer offered in ceremony, asking for strength, justice and preservation.”  – Winona LaDuke, Honor the Earth 

Community of Goodness Radio Show with troubadour Larry Long and storyteller Tom Thibodeau can be heard every Monday morning from 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM (CT).  Streamed worldwide on DRIFTLESS COMMUNITY RADIO WDRT-FM 91.9.

Community of Goodness Podcast can be heard at any hour by going to WDRT COMMUNITY RADIO PODCAST ARCHIVES.   

As Pete Seeger wrote, “If there’s a world here in a hundred years, it’s going to be saved by tens of millions of little things.”

Community of Goodness Radio Show & Podcast is one of those small things that makes a world of difference in the lives of those who listen.

About Larry Long:  Larry is an American singer-songwriter who has made his life work the celebration of everyday heroes. He has written and performed hundreds of ballads celebrating community and history makers. Long is the creator of Elders’ Wisdom, Children’s song which has honored over one-thousand elders in story and song with youth across the nation.  Author and historian Studs Terkel called Larry “a true American Troubadour.”

Long is a recipient of the Bush Artists Fellowship, the Pope John XXIII Award, Leadership In Neighborhood Fellowship (St. Paul Companies), Sustainability Award, and In The Spirit of Crazy Horse Award for his work in forgotten communities.

With recordings on Smithsonian Folkways, Cereus, & Rock the Cause Records, Long continues to perform throughout the United States and world. Larry is also a proud husband, father, and grandfather.

About Tom Thibodeau:  Tom is a Distinguished Professor of Servant Leadership at Viterbo University in LaCrosse, Wisconsin where he has been teaching for 37 years. Thibodeau is the founder of the Master of Arts degree in Servant Leadership at Viterbo, the only master’s degree in servant leadership in the country.  Over twenty years ago he helped found the Place of Grace hospitality house in LaCrosse which serves meals and human dignity.  Besides speaking nationally to audiences on the developing servant leadership movement, Tom Thibodeau is also a proud husband, father, grandfather,  and part owner of a country tavern, Leo & Leona’s.

Community of Goodness Radio Show & Podcast is recorded at Sound Strations Audio in La Crosse, Wisconsin by composer, producer, and engineer Brett Huus.

 

Wednesday, August 18th | 12pm – 10pm
Bayfront Festival Park – Duluth, MN

 

Larry Long & Friends invite you to the first ever “Water Is Life: Stop Line 3” music, art and cultural festival on the shores of the mighty Gichi-Gami (Lake Superior). Featuring an unprecedented coalition of musicians, artists, poets and Indigenous leaders, this one-day festival is a celebration of water as the fundamental life-giving resource of Mother Earth and a full-throttle resistance in music and song against the Line 3 tar sands oil pipeline currently snaking its way through the waterways and Anishinaabe lands of northern Minnesota. *

Water Is Life: Stop Line 3” music, art and cultural festival is produced & presented by Honor the Earth and its production and promotional partners, First Avenue and The Current. 

Line-up of featured artists who’ve donated their include: Bon Iver, Mumu Fresh, Hippo Campus, Lissie, Quiltman, Larry Long, David Huckfelt, Keith Secola, Annie Humphrey, Charlie Parr, Corey Medina. Alan Sparhawk, Superior Siren, Adia Victoria, and more.

A sacred water ceremony will be led by Dorene Day Waubanewquay, a 3rd Degree Midewiwin, and Lead Woman singer for Center Fire in the Three Fires (Heartway) Lodge.

Local, organic food vendors, regionally-sourced food and beverages, and a variety of organizations centered around the mission of sustainability, Indigenous rights, and clean water will all be onsite.

All proceeds will benefit the Indigenous women-led Honor the Earth non-profit in its fight against Enbridge’s Line 3 construction in Native treaty Lands during a time of climate crisis and severe drought up north.

 

 

VIRTUALLY FREE JUNE 19th from 11AM – 11PM (ET)

Clearwater Festival (aka “The Great Hudson River Revival” or “Revival”) features powerful statements by life-long activists and organizations. The event will feature many musical performers, storytellers, and activists, including: Guy Davis, Larry Long, John McCutcheon, Tom Chapin, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Scott Ainslie, Donna & Rick Nestler, Matt Cartsonis, Betty and the Baby Boomers, Hubby Jenkins, Thomasina Winslow, Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Emma’s Revolution, Holly Near, Tom Paxton, R.J. Storm and the Old School Bluegrass Band, Mel & Vinnie, Reggie Harris, Diana Jones, The Trouble Sisters, Magpie, Rik Palieri and more. Consistent with Clearwater’s longstanding commitment to accessibility, the Revival programming is staffed with American Sign Language interpreters.

Inspired by Pete Seeger‘s desire to clean up the river over forty years ago, The Great Hudson River Revival initially helped raise the funds to build the sloop Clearwater, which has since become a world-renowned floating classroom and a symbol of effective grassroots action. Today, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc. is a non-profit organization that sails at the forefront of the nation’s environmental challenges. The revenue raised by the Revival goes to support Clearwater’s numerous educational programs and its work toward environmental and social justice—as well as keeping the sloop Clearwater afloat.

Please consider making a donation – your gift supports Hudson River Sloop Clearwater and makes possible future music festivals, sails, and Clearwater’s ability to bring together thousands in the name of clean water.

 

No More Pipeline Blues (On This Land Where We Belong) featured in RollingStone.com on April 20.

Mother Earth just received a lot of love from Indigenous mothers, grandmothers and others who teamed up in song, spoken word and video to push back against a new toxic, highly polluting tar sands oil pipeline. “Line 3” cuts through the heart of Native land and crosses more than 200 water bodies – including the Mississippi River twice – a drinking water source for millions of people downstream from the river’s headwaters, which begins in northern Minnesota.

Rock the Cause Records* in partnership with Honor the Earth and Larry Long have just released the audio single, “No More Pipeline Blues (On this Land Where We Belong)” featuring Waubanewquay, Winona LaDuke, Day Sisters, Mumu Fresh, Pura Fe, Soni Moreno, Jennifer Kreisberg, Indigo Girls, Bonnie Raitt and poet Joy Harjo.

Produced and composed by folksinger and activist Larry Long, the song will soon be available on multiple platforms including iTunes, Tidal, YouTube and more!  You can hear and download the song now by going to larrylong.bandcamp.com.

Revealing the powerful efforts of water protectors to #StopLine3, the supporting music video is an action-packed mini-documentary, shining a spotlight on the Indigenous women-led resistance to the tar sands pipeline. Produced by Honor the Earth and Pickett Pictures, it is directed by award-winning filmmaker and photographer Keri Pickett  and posted to the Honor the Earth YouTube channel  will also be released underscoring the battle on the land and water and in the courts to #StopLine3.

Despite active, ongoing lawsuits in the Minnesota Appeals Court and in a Federal district court in Washington DC, the highly polluting pipeline is already half built.  Line 3 is owned by the Canadian multi-national, Enbridge, Inc., and dissects the heart of Anishinaabe territories and the most pristine and complex watersheds and ecosystems in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, including Lake Superior.

All Proceeds to Benefit the Non-Profit, Honor the Earth, and Water Protectors

“’No More Pipeline Blues’ beautifully illustrates in music, singing, spoken word and images the threats of a totally unnecessary tar sands pipeline at the end of the age of Big Oil. But it also illuminates the sacredness of our environment, and yet more destructive, historical impacts to Indigenous culture. Still, the song and the music video are also like prayer offered in ceremony, asking for strength, justice and preservation.”  – Winona LaDuke, Honor the Earth

Learn More

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” James Baldwin

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves and embrace justice for those being crushed.” Proverbs 31:8

“True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.” Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King

Larry Long: Lead Vocal, Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica | Van Nixon: Response & Choral Vocals | George Parrish: Electric Guitar | Daryl Boudreaux: Percussion | Yohannes Tona: Bass

Brett Huus: Recording, Mixing & Master Engineer | George Parrish: Recording & Studio Engineer | Nathaniel Nelson: Music Video

Words by Larry Long | Music by Larry Long & Van Nixon 

CONSPIRACY OF GOODNESS | DRIFTLESS RADIO WDRT-FM 91.9 | STREAMED WORDWIDE | ARCHIVED WEEKLY

Conspiracy of Goodness Radio Show (Episode 35) Honoring the Contemplative-  MONDAY, May 3, 2021 @ 8:30 AM (CT)

Preceding weeks episode of Conspiracy of Goodness can be heard at any hour by going to: WDRT 91.9 fm Driftless Community Radio music archives.

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee
And live alone in the bee-loud glad
 
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.
 
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.  
 
Thank you for all that you do,
 
 
The Lake Isle of Innisfree by William Butler Yeats
Produced & Recorded by Brett Huus

“Larry Long on Social Issues” to be broadcast March 8th – 14th, 2021 on the Mary Hanson Show MCN6.

Monday, March 8 – 9 PM | Tuesday, March 9 – 9 PM |Wednesday, March 10 – 9 PM | Friday, March 12 – 9 PM | Sunday, March 14 – 4:30 PM

“LARRY LONG, the well-known singer, songwriter and educator as well as a Smithsonian Folkways Artist, is back on my show, The Mary Hanson Show, this week, talking about social issues and sharing some of his great music. As we think hard about social issues now, I thought this would be a very apropos interview. Here are the broadcast times: 9 pm on MCN6 on Mon, Tues, Wed and Fri plus 4:30 pm next Sunday, the 14th. I hope you can catch one of these!”  – Mary Hanson 

 

The Tiny Tent Show virtual film premiere of American Roots Revue concert at  Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua in 2015 will be Friday, August 28th, at 7 PM.   Watch on FACEBOOK or YOUTUBE.

Featuring Anishinabe and Oneida Hip-Hop Artist, Tall Paul; ‘Pavarotti’ of Gospel, Robert Robinson; Midewiwin Native Life Ways Singer & Keeper of the Song, Dorene Day Waubanewquay, and Community Builder & Troubadour, Larry Long.

American Roots Revue works from the core of America’s richest musical traditions of First Nation, gospel, blues, folk, R&B, spoken word & Hip-Hop.

This concert film celebrates the Revue’s eighth iteration, with artists doing traditional and original songs in combination never seen or heard before onstage, plus honoring the work of Woody Guthrie, John Trudell, Louis Alemayehu and Pete Seeger.

The Revue’s revamped lineup of world-class artists is equaled only by the strong supporting musicians such as:  Cory Wong (Guitar), Joe Savage (Pedal Steel), Yohannes Tona (Bass), Jamie Hodges (Drumsticks, Buckets), Stephen Matier (Lambeg Drum), Jack Gunderson (Vocals).

“A moment in time to relax and enjoy the virtual gift of music with those you love in the comfort of your own home. Thank you for all you do,”   – Larry Long
 

The Longfellow Business Association is working to get resources to our community in the wake of George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer.

I have lived in the Longfellow neighborhood for thirty years. This is where we raised our children.  Our son, Jacob, and others worked tirelessly, day and night,  to deliver medical assistance to those in need from a church basement three blocks from the 3rdPrecinct.

Streets now burning beneath the sun
Good God we pray justice be done
We can rebuild imagine that
But we cannot bring George Floyd’s life back

The time has now come to rebuild.  Approximately fifty businesses and non-profits were adversely impacted.   Many individual businesses have received donations, but initial estimates place total damage at well over $600 million.

George Floyd please say his name
George Floyd don’t let him die in vain
George Floyd

Your help is critical to rebuilding Longfellow’s business and non-profit vitality.  The LongfellowBusiness Association is committed to ensuring that those impacted and displaced can remain in Longfellow. They stand in support of local businesses and non-profits, including our many black, indigenous and immigrant-owned businesses. Longfellow Business Association will work to advocate for future redevelopment is equitable and just.

Please donate in any amount to support rebuilding a vibrant and equitable Longfellow community!  

“We love it here!”

 

 

Larry Long & Tom Thibodeau will be hosting a morning radio show called “Conspiracy of Goodness” on WDRT 91.9 fm Driftless Community Radio and streamed worldwide beginning Labor Day, September 7, 2020 at 8:30 AM.

Since 1983, Larry Long and Tom Thibodeau have joined together as friends to form a Conspiracy of Goodness. The word conspiracy comes from two latin words com-spirare which means to be in harmony or literally to Breathe together. Goodness is one of the Transcendental Virtues which extends us beyond ourselves for the health and well being others.

Through their friendship and work for the greater good Larry and Tom are committed to expanding the conspiracy of goodness by inviting you to be refreshed and inspired by songs and stories of virtue which bring people together from differnt backgrounds for a Greater Good. We hope to strengthen connections, expand communities, and create possibilities in working for the Greater good everyday.

Songs connect us; when our voices unite we create common ground understanding that dissonance is one step on the way to harmony. Stories reminds us of our shared humanity. Both are needed; all are a gift.

‘Conspiracy of Goodness’ will also be viewed and heard on YouTube, Facebook and Podcast.

Produced & recorded by Grammy Award winning sound engineer Brett Huus of Momentous Records.

Featuring Larry Long, JD Steele, Tonia Hughes, Billy Steele, Daryl Boudreaux, George Parrish, Yohannes Tona

American Roots Revue’s filmed performance premieres Friday, July 24th at 8:00 PM (Central Time) via YouTube and Facebook.

A good excuse to cook up some popcorn with the one you love. Relax and enjoy the blest gift of music together.

This concert in Lanesboro was the final performance of American Roots Revue’s 2019 FIVE-CITY LEGACY TOUR.  Other concerts were held in the Lower Sioux Indian Community; Live at the Levee in Winona; Milan Community Festival of Story & Song; Prairie Island Mdewakanton Dakota Community.  Available for 48 hours after its premiere, so don’t miss your chance!

Filmed by Nathaniel Nelson of Treedome Productions

Larry Long & Friends will be sharing the evening with New York Times best-selling author William Kent Krueger in celebration of his newest novel, This Tender Land.  

Where: St John’s Lutheran Church
20165 Heath Ave., Lakeville, Minnesota
When: Saturday, April 25, 7–9:30 p.m.

For more information:  OneBook

This OneBook, OneLakeville  event is sponsored by the Friends of the Lakeville Heritage Library.  The event is free and no tickets are required. Seating is on a first-come first-serve basis.

Larry Long will be joined in concert by fellow friends and musicians Fiddlin’ Pete Watercott (Violin, Mandolin,Vocals), Joe Savage (Pedal Steel), George Parrish (Guitar), Sid Gasner (Bass) & Daryl Boudreaux (Percussion).  Their performance will be followed by a discussion from William Kent Krueger about This Tender Land with myTalk 107.1 radio host Miss Shannan Paul.

Larry Long & Friends will be celebrating the timeless musical traditions that defined the era of This Tender Land. This Tender Land tells the story of four orphans’ journey into the unknown — crossing paths with struggling farmers, traveling faith healers, displaced families and lost souls of all kinds. 

About William Kent Krueger:

Raised in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, William Kent Krueger briefly attended Stanford University — before being kicked out for radical activities. After that, he logged timber, worked construction, tried his hand at freelance journalism, and eventually ended up researching child development at the University of Minnesota. He currently makes his living as a full-time author. He’s been married for more than 40 years to a marvelous woman who is a retired attorney. He makes his home in St. Paul, a city he dearly loves.

About OneBook, OneLakeville:

 Now in its 12th year, OneBook, OneLakeville promotes family reading, literacy and community interaction by encouraging everyone in Lakeville to read the same book.

 

Announcing the release of Larry Long’s new single “Firefighter (Duty,Honor,Courage)” with American Roots Revue.

Larry Long & American Roots Revue have partnered with Minnesota Firefighter Initiative (MnFIRE) to release a new song that highlights the need to do more to protect the health of Minnesota’s firefighters. The song “Firefighter (Duty, Honor, Courage),” was written by Long with MnFIRE as an anthem for the state’s firefighters as the 2020 legislative session begins and the Hometown Heroes Assistance Program (SF2264 and HF1782) is up for consideration once again.

Receive download of Firefighter (Duty, Honor, Courage) at no cost by clicking here   (When you go to this link please enter $0.00 after clicking on ‘Buy Digital track – name your price’)

“It’s been a tough week in the Minnesota fire service. Millerville Firefighters, off duty, both perish in a silo accident and along with one of the firefighter’s 12 year old son. The fire department who responded saw their friend and co-worker deceased. Drake Hotel fire in Minneapolis on Christmas Day. Firefighters faced down a raging fire with hundreds of potential victims. Half of whom were children.

This fire got lots of well earned media coverage for the lives saved and the heroics of the firefighters. What doesn’t always get covered is how often firefighters statewide “answer the bell” in service to others. Saving lives and property at fires, crashes, water and ice rescues and countless serious medical emergencies. This is why the MnFIRE mission is so vital. Getting help to those who respond and helping those who are in the darkness of emotional trauma, job related cancers and cardiac issues to find the light and the hope and a path out.” – George Esbensen, MnFire President

“I was inspired to write “Firefighter” after I accompanied Eden Prairie Fire Chief George Esbensen and firefighters on a call to a business fire. While on that fire run I was so deeply struck by the brave and hardworking people that save our lives daily. When I discovered the high rate of heart disease, cancer and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among firefighters, I felt the calling to write ‘Firefighter’. For there’s no better time than now to urge policymakers to give all that it might take for us to support the physical and emotional well-being of those who serve us.” – Larry Long

Firefighter (Duty, Honor, Courage) will premier this Sunday, December 29th, on WCCO Radio (830 AM) during Larry Long & George Esbensen’s interview with Jearlyn Steele on Steele Talkin’ beginning at 8:34 PM. Please tune in.

Firefighter (Duty, Honor, Courage) features: Larry Long–Lead Vocal, Guitar; J.D. Steele, Robert Robinson, Tonia Hughes–Support Vocals;  Billy Steele-Piano; George Parrish–Electric Guitar; Joe Savage–Pedal Steel: Yonathan Bekure–Bass; Daryl Boudreaux–Percussion; Brian Kendrick–Drums.

Studio & Mixing Engineers:  Steve Wiese & Miles Hanson

Recorded at Creation Audio Studio A; Minneapolis, Minnesota