Passim's Folk Collective And The Opening Doors Project to Launch VOICES RISING

Passim's Folk Collective and Boston-based arts organization The Opening Doors Project will present Voices Rising, a new joint series of free shows taking place across New England throughout 2025-2026. Each concert will include curated music exploring race and identity paired with conversations about how those topics shape our world. For more information and a full schedule, visit openingdoorsproject.org. 

The Voices Rising series includes major cultural touch points such as an Indigenous People's Day Concert, an MLK Day Concert, and two Black History Month concerts. 

The Folk Collective at Passim is an artist-led initiative dedicated to expanding the narrative of folk music by centering the stories, sounds, and perspectives of artists whose voices have long been part of its history, with workshops and events. Through workshops, performances, and community events, the Collective works to uplift diverse creators and foster meaningful artistic exchange.

“The Folk Collective is excited to co-present this series of shows with The Opening Doors Project,” says Shea Rose, Curator of The Folk Collective. “The Folk Collective has lived on the stage at Passim, and in a natural evolution of that work, the community has responded by inviting the artists, music, and conversation into their own spaces. That invitation continues to shape how the program evolves. This partnership brings together two organizational missions rooted in shared purpose: broadening the tapestry of voices represented in folk music, reclaiming overlooked narratives, and deepening community conversations around race, identity, and belonging.”

The Opening Doors Project amplifies voices of color and advances interracial conversations about race through the arts, with community concerts for all ages, education programming at schools, and one of the most diverse teaching artist rosters in the Boston area. Grant underwriting allows the organization to offer concerts for free, while grants, donations, and paid programming in suburban schools help fund free programming in underserved urban schools.

“We're working towards several goals at once,” says Alastair Moock, Opening Doors Artistic Director and Co-Founder (and Folk Collective alum). “In predominantly white towns and schools, we're using music to open up needed conversations about race and identity; in Black and brown communities, we're offering quality programming with a roster that looks like our audiences; and, wherever we work, we're supporting historically undervalued artists by raising the money it takes to pay fair market wages.”

Together, the organizations are curating a series that uplifts meaningful storytelling, honors a wide range of musical traditions, and uses performance as a bridge toward connection and cultural understanding.

The season features current Folk Collective members and alumni, Opening Doors Project roster members, and other prominent artists and cultural leaders in the Boston arts community. 

The series included two shows this fall with an Indigenous Peoples Day Concert in Belmont featuring Wampanoag singer-songwriter Thea Hopkins and a show featuring folk musicians Pamela Means and Anand Nayak for On the Hill House Concerts in Cambridge.

2026 Performances Include: 

Sun, Jan 18 at 7pm, Melrose, MA

MLK Day Concert
Melrose UU Church
with Stephanie McKay, Tyrone Chase, and Alastair Moock

Fri, Feb 13 at 7:30pm, Lexington, MA

Black History Month Concert
Follen Church
with Kemp Harris and Adam Osgood

Fri, Feb 27 at 7pm, Belmont, MA

Black History Month Concert
Belmont High School Black Box Theater
with Reggie Harris and Regie Gibson (Massachusetts Poet Laureate)

Sat, Mar 14 at 7pm, Putney, VT

Race and Song Concert
Next Stage Arts
with Pamela Means and Alastair Moock

Sat, April 4 at 7pm, Woburn, MA

Know Your Neighbor Woburn Concert
North Church Woburn
with Lydia Harrell, Pamela Means, Stephanie McKay, Anand Nayak, and Alastair Moock

Fri, May 8 at 7pm, Arlington, MA