‘She Bends the River’ will benefit Jan. 19 event
The upcoming Akron Women’s March, Saturday, Jan. 19, will uplift the many strong women, non-binaries and allies in the community, while drawing attention to ending violence and discrimination against these groups. To help support the event, a group of acclaimed singers and songwriters have created a new song to celebrate the march.
The project was spurred by a poem, called “Rise,” written by yogi and poet Julie Norman.
“Moved to tears, I felt the call to turn it into a song, and Julie supported the effort,” said songwriter and activist Zach Freidhof. “However, this song needed to be something bigger, something more special. The idea came to bring together some of the brilliant talent of our musical Sheroes in our community, where it could be used to support and benefit the Women’s March.”
From there, an all star lineup of top-tier Akron singers and songwriters got involved: Gretchen Pleuss, Angie Haze, Tracey Nguma, Natalie Martin and Bethany Joy, who decided to call their performance effort “She Bends the River.”
Recorded at Studio 1008 in Kenmore with Jason Chamberlain, the song will be released Wednesday, Jan. 16., and will be available on iTunes and Spotify and CDBaby. All the proceeds will support the Women’s March activities.
The Akron Women’s March takes place Saturday, Jan. 19, 11 a.m. and starts at Summit Artspace, 140 E. Market St. The March will be followed by an after party until 8 p.m. inside Summit Artspace, featuring feminist lead musicians, speakers, food and workshops. For info, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/2139467359703600/.
