A Monthly Massive Singalong for the Soul

BIG SING

Join with HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE in person singing our hearts out.
Led by a conspiracy of choirs and songleader luminaries, we’ll sing songs we know or can super quickly pick up.
Pop anthems, gospel, improv,  medicine songs, community classics -- all with themes we hope will leave us spirit-nourished and uplifted.

Let’s become a warm, inclusive, huge pop up choir of questionable talent and irrepressible joy.

At The Bridge Yard in Oakland

27th

MAR

Fourth Thursdays beginning in March

07 - 09 pm
I want to sing like the birds sing, not worrying about who hears or what they think.

Rumi

What to Expect

Concentric circles of chairs

Campfire-style! This will be a non-performative, trance-out-in-the-music kind of space. You’re welcome to sit, stand or happy sway.

No talking no teaching no cell phones out

We won’t stop the songs to teach parts, preach or stage banter. 2 hours of non-stop singing. With phones away.

Lyrics on monitors

So you don’t have to hold paper, look down or effort to remember. Sing the lead melody, or choose your own harmony part and rock out!

Diversity of faiths and frameworks

This gathering isn’t rooted in any particular faith tradition, and songs will come from many.  Spirituality and religiousness of all types are welcome (and encouraged!)

Join us

At the Bridge Yard in Oakland

210 Burma Rd, Oakland https://www.thebridgeyard.com
Big Sing’s home venue is a historic, iconic event space that was once a maintenance facility for Bay Area street cars and features panoramic waterfront views of Oakland and San Francisco. 

We have 225 parking spaces, and expect 400 singers, so please carpool and rideshare! Doors open at 6:30pm.  Please arrive early to say hello and settle in. We’ll sing from 7-9pm non-stop!
Cost: $20/adults, $10/18 and under

I believe that music is one of the closest things we have to magic.

Haruki Murakami

What to Wear

Let’s match! As you likely know, choir members traditionally dress alike. Let’s keep that tradition and enjoy a cohesive element for our big group singalong. Each month, we’ll choose a color or theme to incorporate when you choose what to wear. 

Learn the Songs

You are invited and encouraged (if this kind of thing is your jam) to listen to the songs we will be singing in advance. Here is a playlist so you can familiarize yourself with this month’s set and, if you like, learn the lead melody or learn/create your favorite harmony parts. While knowing the music can support letting loose and rocking out, you’re also very welcome to show up with zero prep and be surprised!
(March's playlist is in progress! Stay tuned! In the meantime, here are some "uplifting songs.")

About Us

We are a freshly forming community of diverse song lovers from around the Bay Area.  We are shower singers, garage band singers, and non-singers along with local choirs, a cappella groups, and seasoned song leaders.  We believe in non-performative singing for the joy of it!  We hope all people everywhere (the tone deaf and tone-masterful alike!) will reclaim the timeless and oh-so-human activity of coming together to raise up our voices in song. We wanted to create an experience of very large group singing without talking or pausing to teach, in order to invite transcendent states of consciousness.  And to have fun.  March will be our first Big Sing! We hope you join us.

Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life.

Ludwig van Beethoven

People Guiding our Journey

Meet our March Songleaders

Melanie DeMore
Songleader

Melanie DeMore is a 3 time Grammy nominated singer/composer, choral conductor, music director, and vocal activist who believes in the power of voices raised together. https://melaniedemore.com/

Organizer's Chorus
Songleader

A pop up choir to support our Big Sing pop up choir! Our Big Sing organizing team is gathering a motley group of fabulous friends to lead us in a few wholehearted singalongs.

Briony Greenhill
Songleader

Briony Greenhill is “one of the world’s leading proponents of collaborative vocal improvisation (CVI)” - The Guardian. Briony teaches vocal musicianship from beginner to advanced levels, while also honouring the spiritual, ritual and therapeutic application of CVI. https://www.brionygreenhill.com/

Oakland Youth Chorus
Songleader

Oakland Youth Chorus is a part of the renowned and beloved Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir. Their mission is to inspire joy and unity among all people through Black Gospel and Spiritual Music traditions. https://www.oigc.org/ensembles

Inspiring videos of other groups Big Singing

Koolulam singing One Day by Matisyahu in Haifa

Pub Choir singing Africa by Toto across Australia

Come Join Us!

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No matter your gender, sexual orientation, religion, spirituality, abilities, race, housing status, or other unnamed things, you are welcome here.

We honor the land and waters where this gathering takes place, traditional homeland of Chochenyo Ohlone People.