Compassion is the Only Way
Chris Pierce joins Jess Klein's Big Table, plus Providence, Boston and Carrboro shows.
My loves,
Oof. I am writing this on November 6th. What a day. If you are feeling boatloads of grief/rage/fear right now, I am with you. I want to encourage you to find a healthy way to feel and express it all. Journal, call a trusted friend, scream into your pillow, get outside and breathe.
I also want to share something that came up in every conversation I had today with various folks I turn to for support: Let’s feel it AND let’s build community right where we are.
Black activists have been saying it forever: “We take care of us.” This is part of the antidote to systems of power that do not have our best interests at stake. Pointing fingers at our neighbors won’t change anything at this point. Building community with folks we trust, who will show up with a pot of soup when we are sick, who will give us a ride when we are without a car, who will lend their shoulders for us to cry on when a loved one passes - these connections are our most valuable resources, whether they are trusted online communities or people we gather with IRL. This is how we move through the unknown, the terrifying, the grievous times.
On that note, I am very glad to be able to share a conversation with an artist I think we all need to hear from right now.
In 2023, Singer-Songwriter Chris Pierce was handpicked to be the special guest opener for the Neil Young Coastal Tour. He recently gained additional worldwide prominence with “We Can Always Come Back to This”. His hit song aired on 3 episodes of the #1 NBC primetime series ‘This Is Us,' then went on to #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart. Pierce has also done worldwide headlining tours and has performed with: Neil Young, B.B. King, Steve Earle, Seal, Al Green, Allison Russell, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Rodrigo y Gabriella, Jill Scott, Keb’Mo, Blind Boys of Alabama, Aaron Neville & others.
Chris Pierce is a musical hero of mine. His songs of social justice, life, love, rising up within ourselves are unflinching, heart-opening and a deep reminder of our shared humanity. I was thrilled to have him as a guest on JKBT.
In this anecdote, Chris shares a striking childhood memory of an incident that taught him about both racism AND the joyful resilience of standing up in community while growing up as the son of a mixed race couple in California.
If you need a soundtrack for getting through the coming weeks, I recommend all of Chris’s albums, especially American Silence and Let All Who Will.
Listen/Watch the Whole Episode:
PROVIDENCE: join me this Saturday 11/9 at the beloved Stone Soup Coffeehouse. I need to sing for you and maybe you need some musical healing too. Let’s gather. Ben Shaw opens the show. GET TICKETS.
BOSTON: Join me this Sunday 11/10 for a special co-bill with my pal Jenny Reynolds. It’s a house concert that’s open to the public and as of Wednesday when I’m writing this, some seats are still available! RSVP TO GET A SEAT.
Many years ago I read The Bhaghavad Gita, an ancient Hindu scripture which relays a battlefield conversation between the Warrior Prince, Arjuna and his charioteer, the god, Krishna. Arjuna poses a series of questions to Krishna including whether he should engage in battle even though he sees some of his foes in this war are people he loves. The idea that stuck with me the most from reading the Gita was that even in battle, you must have compassion for your opponents.
The concept was theoretical to me at the time, when my foes seemed mostly to be my inner demons, those who from a distance seemed vaguely uncomfortable with my politics, or maybe just people who judged me. The gist of it stuck though. Can we, from a place of love, still fight for what we believe in, in our bones, in our hearts, in our souls: justice, peace, freedom?
CARRBORO, NC - Join me Saturday 12/7 for an evening of pre-holiday songs. That means my songs, but in December. And also some jazz standards and perhaps a new tune or two I’ll debut. I’ll be joined by Russell Kelly on guitar. GET TICKETS.
One thing that struck me speaking with Chris last week was how he truly embodied compassion. He said with his words that compassion was the most important thing, but he also exuded it.
For example, it took me nearly an hour after our planned start time to get the tech side working for the podcast. That had never happened before and I was mortified, but Chris kept patiently offering different suggestions. He stayed calm and friendly even though I was ready to shake my fist at the internet gods.
When he spoke about his song, Tulsa Town - which relays the story of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre which destroyed Black Wall Street, he pointed out that even the narrator of the tale, a black man who was being hung for an invented crime, was trying to have compassion for the white folks who were destroying all he and his community had built.
When we’re stuck in our heads, and in our fear, I think it’s easy to dismiss compassion as idealism, or to think it has its limits. But I believe in my heart that spirit has something else to say. I believe our hearts want to live in compassion, because it’s a lot less exhausting than walking around angry. Believing we are separate from and at war with everyone who disagrees with us is too much. That doesn’t mean we don’t fight like hell for our rights. It doesn’t mean we don’t have healthy boundaries. In fact, as Brene Brown says, the people with the strongest boundaries are the ones who are able to have the most compassion.
It simply means we know that our opponents are human, that they have hearts, no matter how heartless their actions. And that we too are messy, imperfect, and cause others pain.
It’s a practice, yes?
***
Upcoming Shows
11/9 Stone Soup Coffeehouse, Providence, RI
11/10 House of Play, Boston, MA w/Jenny Reynolds Please email for info/reservations
12/7 ArtsCenter, Carrboro, NC
Let’s keep building what is in our power and what gives us power back: community.
I love 'y’all.
Jess