Songs for a Small Planet is an international songwriting collective focused on climate activism and promoting environmental sustainability and social justice through the power of original music.
It’s time for a new narrative, not of global destruction, but of global re-generation. The climate crisis needs songwriters to pull people out of hopelessness and embrace the myriad solutions that are already unfolding. While politicians dither and take up arms, communities are springing into action creating eco-villages, regenerative farms, renewable energy projects, net-zero houses, and much more. Thousands of organizations around the world are lit-up with new ideas and technologies giving people a sense of purpose and dignity. As songwriters, we need to do our part.
Musician Teresa Doyle, author/musician Todd MacLean, and arts administrator Rob Oakie joined forces to create Songs for a Small Planet. The intent is to ignite a network of musicians around the globe to compose visionary songs of hope, community, justice, and environmental renewal. We are beginning with a collective of musicians from Prince Edward Island, Canada who can reach out to national and international peers, requesting they write songs on the theme and further spread the idea in their own communities. Touring musicians Dennis Ellsworth, Catherine MacLellan, and Emmanuelle LeBlanc joined the collective, will be performing in upcoming shows and helping with international networking.
Over the coming months, we want to do everything we can to advance this project. Our collective is authoring a template for action to share this idea with artists and festivals in other parts of the world to foster co-writing and performance opportunities. One example is requesting folk festivals have a Songs for a Small Planet workshop stage at their events. We are planning on more local and regional live concerts, songwriting circles, and international songwriting collaborations.
The full scope of the project could reach thousands of people through songwriting networks worldwide. Together with artists from every corner of our small planet we can use our voices as inter-generational climate advocates. Change comes when people take charge in great numbers in a million small ways. It is an exciting time to be a songwriter.
Todd, Teresa, Rob, Catherine, Emmanuelle, and Dennis.
We invite artists and presenters to get involved. Contact Rob Oakie at Musicpei or project coordinator Teresa Doyle at teresa@teresadoyle.com.