PUTNEY — Music, memory, and meaning will take center stage at Next Stage Arts on Saturday, March 14, when the Opening Doors Project presents Race & Song: A Musical Conversation with Pamela Means and Alastair Moock.
The performance begins at 7:30 p.m., with doors opening at 6:45 p.m., at Next Stage Arts, 15 Kimball Hill in Putney. Tickets are available at nextstagearts.org for $20 in advance, $25 at the door, or $10 for the livestream option.
Race & Song is an exploration of history and current events through the lens of race, using music as both entry point and guide. Longtime friends and veteran musicians, Means and Moock invite audiences into thoughtful, generous conversation about race, class, gender, and history—sharing lived experience through song, storytelling, and historical and personal photographs.
Presented in musical dialogue, the program weaves together songs such as “Wade in the Water,” “Freight Train,” “It’s a Mighty Long Way,” “This Little Light of Mine,” and Moock’s original “Be a Pain.” Each song opens a window onto the stories behind it, offering historical context while illuminating the artists’ own life experiences and perspectives. As the duo often notes, music has a way of helping “the medicine go down.”
Over the past several years, Means and Moock have brought Race & Song to audiences across the country, performing in theaters, libraries, houses of worship, senior centers, and schools—from elementary classrooms to college campuses. One of the duo’s greatest strengths is their ability to meet audiences where they are, creating space for reflection, learning, and connection.
Pamela Means has been compared to Tracy Chapman and Ani DiFranco, described as a cross between Suzanne Vega and Jimi Hendrix, and hailed as an heir to the legacy of Nina Simone. Curve Magazine calls her “one of the fiercest guitar players and politically-rooted musicians in the industry today,” while The New York Times has praised her “stark, defiant songs.”
Alastair Moock is an award-winning singer-songwriter, GRAMMY-nominated family musician, social justice and songwriting educator, and co-founder of the Opening Doors Project. The Boston Globe has called him “one of the town’s best and most adventurous songwriters,” while The Washington Post writes that “every song is a gem.”
The Putney performance is part of the Opening Doors Project’s Voices Rising series and is funded in part by the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the six New England state arts agencies.
For local audiences, Race & Song offers an evening of powerful music, honest storytelling, and an invitation to listen deeply—together.
