ONLINE TICKETS CLOSED - TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR $33-66 sliding scale

For this event, we’ve been invited to show up not only for the songs and stories we’ll share inside the space, but also for our wider community. If you feel called and able, we’ll have a donation box at the event to support local families who are being impacted by the recent cuts to SNAP benefits and targeted by ICE.

Here are some suggested items that are especially helpful:
*Shelf-stable foods (canned beans, soups, vegetables, rice, pasta, nut butters, etc.)
*Infant and toddler essentials (diapers, wipes, formula)
*Basic hygiene items (toothpaste, soap, pads/tampons)
*Cooking staples (oil, flour, sugar, spices)
*Gift cards to local grocery stores

All items will be distributed locally by members of the host community to ensure they reach those who need them most.

Thank you in advance for showing up with care... in voice, in presence, and if you’re able, in tangible support.


ABOUT
ahlay (of Scandinavian, Ashkenazi, and British Isles ancestry, living on Coast Salish Lands) carries a repertoire of collective, participatory songs taught in the oral tradition. In this process, ahlay sings a line, and the group responds, echoing it back until the song lives in our bodies and we can sing it together, over and over. These songs are designed for connection, for ease, for being in it together. More often than not, it's an a cappella experience, touched by drumming and, occasionally, other instruments.

For many of us, singing is tied to religious or spiritual spaces—places we've been pushed out of, or run from, or lost. Some of us are living through or have lived through changes in our voices, unsure of spaces where we can reconnect with our singing voices as they evolve. Many of us carry shame around our voices, burdened by a culture that tells us only a select few, like Ariana Grande, are “allowed” to truly sing. But what if singing was never meant to be reserved for the chosen few? What if it was always meant to be ours?

This way of singing isn’t about perfection, performance or how we sound as individuals. It’s about the way it feels in our bodies—the way our voices lift together and our hearts have the potential to open in the shared rhythm of song. It is an act of reclaiming the human birthright to sing, to feel our voices as a natural and powerful technology of connection. We sing to remember what was meant to be forgotten—the power of collective presence. Not explicitly, but inherently: When we sing—especially when we sing together—we are invited to release and transform emotions that long to move.

The songs ahlay carries hold space for the emotions and experiences that often remain unspoken—songs for grief, praise, collapse, death, shame, joy, and the healing of ancestral wounds.

This space is open to all. While the modern community singing movement has often been predominantly attended by those of European descent, we are committed to growing a more diverse, authentic, and inclusive community through authentic relationship and allyship. This container aims to hold awareness of both our shared and divergent histories, along with the social realities we navigate today. No matter your race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, or abilities—you are welcome and wanted here.

To learn more about ahlay and her work—such as her most recent album Anthems for an Apocalypse, WAILS: Songs for Grief, Communal Grief Retreats, Grieving White Supremacy, and Song Touring—visit Healing at the Roots.



EVENT LOGISTICS
Event lasts 2 hours 30 minutes

Tickets:
Sliding scale from $22–$66*** (all sales 100% final) w/limited "pay what you can" tickets.
Thank you for finding the sweet spot that's both generous & affordable for you!
Your support covers ahlay’s travel and allows this medicine to keep serving the collective.


Time:
Arrive and settle in: 7:00pm
Song container: 7:30-9:30pm

Recommended items to bring: Bring whatever helps you feel grounded and comfortable—cushions, blankets, a water bottle, or your favorite thermos of tea. Flowers, especially roses, are always a cherished addition if you feel called. We’ll have some chairs on hand for those who need them, though you’re welcome to bring your own if that feels best.

Community care:
Event takes place on second floor, there is an elevator

This event is an indoor event with 50-250 people. Please come without Covid symptoms. You are welcome to mask and distance to your own comfort level.

Parking:
Street parking, bus sonoma county transit is available to Sebastopol

Refund Policy:
Please note that all ticket sales are final, and we are unable to offer refunds. However, if you are unable to attend, you are welcome to transfer your ticket to someone else. Simply provide them with the name under which you purchased the ticket. Thank you for your understanding.

Children are welcome to attend (for free) and play on the periphery of circle / join the circle in singing (please be mindful of distractions).

To affirm the Native People + Land we are on: https://native-land.ca/

Questions: 
please email: [email protected]



MORE ABOUT ARTIST:
ahlay (alexandra blakely) is a dreamer of Whale, Tsunami, and Rain, an apprentice to Lightning, Fire, Octopus and Honey, an artist, singer-songwriter, community organizer and elder in training. She is a descendent of Ashkenazi, Scandinavian and British folk and a commitment to breaking the cycles of intergenerational trauma both caused and endured by her ancestors. This commitment unfolds through the mediums of authentic relationship, song and storytelling, ritual and spell casting in ways that acknowledge our varied and intricate histories and identities, emphasizing a devotion to remembering our symbiotic relationship within the natural world.

ahlay has been deeply involved in community activism, communal grief tending and community singing. She is a lifelong student of decolonization, anti-racism and her own ancestral deracination preceeding diasporas. She gets curious about how the individual psyche, embodiment, shadow and trauma responses can be applied to collective and cultural bodies. She has trained with generative somatics, Education for Racial Equity, Animas Valley Institute, The Work that Reconnects, Holistic Resistance, Francis Weller and Laurence Cole. Her community singing albums encapsulate songs for the community to transform, ask questions, and seek to lead lives in service to the future ones. Her 2025 community singing album, WAILS: Songs for Grief was recorded with a choir of 200 voices.

To stay informed about her ongoing offerings, sign up for her monthly newsletter.