Still Evolving

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Dear Friends,
As we move into the summer season during this unprecedented time in human history, let us remember that we are still evolving as a species. We are indeed among the younger siblings in the ancient story of life in the universe. We still have so much to learn about how to live in balance with our Mother Earth and with all of our relatives, human and non-human.

Allison and I continue to learn and practice this balance together, navigating the joys and challenges of partnership as we both grow and evolve. We were recently blessed with a beautiful 107 year-old house in southwest Detroit. It was no easy task to acquire a mortgage on a social worker and folk singer's earnings. But through the generosity of the Great and Holy Spirit working through friends and family, we have become first time "homeowners."

Yet this label seems inadequate, and is charged with an exploitative understanding of personal property rooted in the colonization of sacred land and Indigenous peoples. We are working to transform our understanding of "ownership" into a sense of "stewardship" that can be a pathway to liberation and restoration.

Just as the house came to us through the gift economy, we wish to invest our energy and creativity in making "Grandmother House," as we have come to call her, into a home where the energy of music, mindfulness, healing, and joy can manifest freely-not only for ourselves but for the community of all beings. We have a lot to learn from Grandmother House!

We do this in gratitude and humility, thanking our Beloved Community and the many ancestors who have come before, especially our Bodewadmi family whose village was once located where our neighborhood is now.

We invite you to sing with us this summer. Sing us back to our true home in the present moment. Our true home as members of the still evolving human family. Our true home as children of our Mother Earth. Our true home as musical spiritual beings in a vast and wondrous universe.

Singing with you in the neighborhood and in the cosmos,
Joe

Joe helped write, record, and perform this uplifting song with fellow staff and students at Macomb Montessori Academy in Warren, Michigan where he is a social worker.

Check out this new video for Joe's Amphibians song, made by Jason Mondine and his fellow puppeteers!

Joe Reilly Summer Tour Dates 2021

July 7th, FARMINGTON, MI
Family Fun in Riley Park, 7pm, Free, 33113 Grand River Ave., Farmington, Michigan.

July 8th, DETROIT, MI
Reading and Rhythm on the Riverfront, Free snacks, books, music and stories for children and families, 10am and 11:30am, Free, Registration Required, Gabriel Richard Park, 7130 E. Jefferson, Detroit, Michigan.

July 12th, ONLINE
Opening Heart Mindfulness Community in Washington D.C. sponsors weekly online meditation and presents Joe as a featured guest, 7pm, Free, donations accepted, join on Zoom.

July 13th, ONLINE
Children's concert sponsored by the Belleville Area District LIbrary, 11:00am, Free, join on Facebook

July 23rd, DETROIT, MI
Reading and Rhythm on the Riverfront, Free snacks, books, music and stories for children and families, 10am and 11:30am, Free, Registration Required, Gabriel Richard Park, 7130 E. Jefferson, Detroit, Michigan.

July 30th, DETROIT, MI
Reading and Rhythm on the Riverfront, Free snacks, books, music and stories for children and families, 10am and 11:30am, Free, Registration Required, Gabriel Richard Park, 7130 E. Jefferson, Detroit, Michigan.

August 2nd-6th, ANN ARBOR, MI
Happy Songs Camp! Joe Reilly invites elementary school-aged children (ages 5-12) to get in touch with their creative voices, water seeds of happiness, and express themselves through singing and songwriting in this fun and unique camp. Joe shares methods of calming, listening, and cultivating awareness through simple and accessible mindfulness practices that introduce students to his songwriting process. Planned for in-person following safety protocols, will adapt to virtual if conditions require. M-F 1-4pm, $275/week, Oz's Music, 1920 Packard St., Ann Arbor, Michigan.

August 14th, MANCHESTER, MI
Spirits Rising and the All Nations Dancers perform with Mark and Lesley-Anne Stone, Gayelynn McKinney, and Marion Hayden as part of Passport to Manchester, sponsored by Riverfolk Music and Arts, 12-1pm, $15, River Bend Gardens, Manchester, Michigan.

August 15th, DETROIT, MI
Joe performs in Clark Park with Mark and Lesley-Anne Stone, 6pm, Free, 1130 Clark Ave., Detroit, Michigan.

August 27th, GRAND RAPIDS, MI
Children's concert, 4pm, Grand Rapids Public Library, 111 Library St. NE Grand Rapids, Michigan.