Tonia Hughes, Larry Long and Robert RobinsonOn April 9th, some of Minnesota’s finest musicians will come together at the Loring Theater for the release of the latest CD from Smithsonian Folkways recording artist Larry Long.  Join Larry, Tonia Hughes, Robert Robinson and other special guests for an evening of song and stories.

Proceeds benefit Community Celebration of Place, a non-profit whose program, Elder’s Wisdom, Children’s Song, works to bring elders and youth together in schools and communities through the creative songwriting process.

For tickets, call the Loring Theater box office at (612) 353-6781 or go online at www.loringtheater.com.

Be The Change

When all do better we all do better
     Children of earth standing together
     Be the change you believe in

—Be The Change by Larry Long

After completing a successful run of the play Wellstone! at the Sabes Jewish Community Center through September, I received the following email from Deb Harley:

“Hi Larry,

So how would you feel if we used your song “Be The Change” for the video we’re hoping to create in support of the Obama campaign?”

Be the ChangeOne week later Deb brought together a large group of people to film, “Be The Change— Minneapolis for Obama” at the Rose Gardens across from the Lake Harriet Peace Garden. With the help of Joe Chouinard and video production from Jeff & Rita Nohner, Deb Harley pulled it off!

Be The Change—Minneapolis For Obama was posted on YouTube, Friday, October 10th and at the time of writing this newsletter it has already had over 1,700 hits!

“So here it is… we’re proud of our grassroots effort! If you can take a few minutes, we would really appreciate you reviewing it. Our video will also be on the Mn. Campaign headquarters for Obama site. I’ll be interested to see what you think….even if you may be McCain fans! Love to all, deb”

The song, Be The Change, was written for Senator Paul Wellstone, and his wife Sheila. Paul said, “When all do better we all do better!” Senator Barack Obama carries that vision forward.

Thank you Deb Harley for the inspiration behind this video. Vote November 4th!

Music credits for Be The Change:

Vocals: Larry Long and Tonia Hughes

Arrangement: JD Steele

Bass: Enrique Toussaint

Piano: Peter Schimke

Guitar: Dave Berry

Drums: Brian Kendrick

Engineer: Joe Johnson

Studio: Furseal Recording Studio

Photos by: Peter Leach