First Wednesdays
Song Circle
with Cary Sheldon
First Wednesdays
Song Circle
with Cary Sheldon
Join us to sing around the virtual campfire! FREE monthly sessions on the first Wednesday of the month with mentor Cary Sheldon.
The button will take you to the Eventbrite registration page for this event. You may register for the series before the first session, or for individual sessions.
Already registered? Go to your Eventbrite access page. Be sure to log in to Eventbrite with the same account that you used to purchase the ticket.
More questions? Check out the Online Access Help Page
There’s nothing that brings people together better than singing our favorite songs. It recalls summer nights around the campfire: someone strumming the guitar and all singing a mix of folk music, familiar songs we heard on the radio, and occasional new songs that someone shares.
Join us the first Wednesday of every month over Zoom for Song Circle. Mentor Cary Sheldon will invite us into her home to lead us in singing old favorites and new gems. Registration and participation are FREE!
Nobody has to worry about whether you know the songs or can sing like a pro. All online participants will be on mute. Lyrics and listen-links are posted on this page. This is our chance to share the joy of singing simply for the fun of it.
First Wednesday of the month | 7:00 p.m. Pacific
March 1 ∙ April 5 ∙ May 3 ∙ June 7, 2023
Everyone who wants to sing favorite songs and learn some new ones, too.
No preparation is required! We will post lyrics on this page but no practice is needed, just join us for an hour of musical fun with friends.
There is no cost, Song Circle is FREE.
Register through Eventbrite using the “REGISTER NOW” button to get your personal Zoom access link.
The button will take you to the Eventbrite registration page for this event. You may register for the series before the first session, or for individual sessions.
Already registered? Go to your Eventbrite access page. Be sure to log in to Eventbrite with the same account that you used to purchase the ticket.
More questions? Check out the Online Access Help Page
Cary Sheldon is a singer, songwriter, and beloved Berkeley voice teacher with 30 years’ worth of grateful students. She has been playing and teaching in the Bay Area for the last 40 years. Her love for R & B music led her to be part of Zazu Pitts Memorial Orchestra in the 1980’s. Other affiliations include The Henry Kaiser Band, The Henriettas (a recreation of DeZurick sisters, a popular country music duo from the 1940’s), who appeared on Prairie Home Companion, and most recently her band DanceChant, a joyful community-inspired R&B band that encourages audience participation. She continues to be inspired by her love of singing in community. “Singing together with others is one of the greatest joys in my life.” Now in her 60’s, she returns to influences from her early life. Her grade school music teachers included John Langstaff, creator of the Christmas Revels, and the repertoire was based on the American folk tradition, including old English ballads, spirituals, freedom songs, and the popular folk and protest songs of the 1960’s. She hopes to inspire others to explore the depth of this material and rediscover the joy of community singing.
Photos by Jeanette Yu
April Guest Artist David Gans delivers literate, improvisational folk-rock with looping in a “solo electric” setting. A solo Gans show is likely to consist of several elements: country-blues-style fingerpicking; loop-based improvisations created live in the moment; sweetly-sung ballads, original or borrowed; Grateful Dead songs reinterpreted to suit his voice and guitar; wry observations of the music-festival subculture and the larger world; soulful and passionate political commentary; favorites from the folk-rock canon of the last 50 years. Mix and match – it’s never the same show twice, but it’s always worth a listen.
These are songs we’ll be singing at the April 5, 2023 session. We might not get to all of them, we might bring in some others.
Note that sometimes the key of the recording or YouTube is different from what we will sing together. This is because not all these recordings are in keys that are ideal for all voice parts, and we want everyone to be able to join in.
For each song, there is a short introductory note, then two music sheets. The first sheet has lyrics, and the second version has the music chords. For those who wish to play along, here are instructions from Cary about how to navigate the songs’ chord charts. For those who just wish to sing, refer to the first page (just the words).
Lyrics and chord charts from other Song Circle sessions can be downloaded on our Song Archive page.
Words and music by Elizabeth Cotten
Performed by the Elizabeth Cotten
Download the lyrics (with listen links)
Words and music by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Performed by The Beatles
Words and music by Robert Hunter and Bob Weir
Performed by The Grateful Dead
Words and music by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Performed by The Beatles
Music and lyrics by Boudleaux Bryant
Performed by The Everly Brothers
Traditional, American
Performed by The Grateful Dead
Words and music by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Performed by The Beatles
Traditional, American
Performed by Emmylou Harris
Traditional, American
Performed by Jerry Garcia and David Grisman
Words and music by Elizabeth Cotten
Performed by the Fisk Jubilee Singers