Seven portions of seven Song of the Soul shows with seven great musicians back in the summer/fall of 2020, with songs linked by themes around old-timey music, old times, old folks, and new songs.

Enjoy the rich fruits of the 7^th annual Songs for Social Change contest, sponsored by RAWA (Renaissance Artists and Writers Association). The main organizer, Dada Veda, shares 6 of the finalists in the 2022 contest, including winner Allan Licht.

Tom Neilson is a folk singer's folk singer, using his songs to bring you all the news and issues that are of vital importance to the physical and ethical well-being of Americans but which get short-shrift in mainstream media.

Heather Pierson fell in love with music & the piano at a tender age, growing into singing in choirs & playing the guitar along the way. Music of all sorts of genres are her spirit & lifeblood. She was a part of Garajh Mahal, doing progressive rock, then with the country-leaning North Atlantic Band.

Joy Zimmerman combines consummate instrumental skill, with moving lyrics, and with abundant Light & Love. Immersed in classical music & violin throughout her youth, it was later in life that she picked up a guitar and discovered her gift for songwriting. Joy shares deeply from her rich life and her passion for making a better world, and she does it with wonderful creativity, beauty, and her clear, ringing, passionate voice.

Bonnie Koloc was a major presence in music, especially folk music, on the Chicago scene in the early 1970's, along with John Prine and Steve Goodman, one of the big 3 folk musicians there. She was a constant presence on the stage in those years, churning out 4 albums in 4 years, singing not only folk but jazz and blues. Eventually she wondered away from Chicago, including stints with other forms of art, like musical theater and visual art.

Chris Rosser moved to Asheville, NC, to be close to the folk music scene there, even as he performs as a jazz musician, and as part of the world-fusion trio, Free Planet Radio - and produces music for others.

Jessica Smucker is today's SOS guest, and she believes the best way to change the world is to channel our pain into connection. Jessica is one very captivating person, both musically and otherwise. She worked on movies, is a published poet & a social justice warrior, came into music through a rock band called The Sleeping World, and she knows all the two-letter words in Scrabble, so don't even think of challenging her.

Carrie Elkin brings to listeners a tear-jerking joy through her songs that seek to make the world better from the vulnerable places in each of our hearts. With a life, study, and career path including saxophone, Lutheran church music, pre-med studies, physiology, and environmental work using organic chemistry, it was a long road that led Carrie to her true home & profession as a singer/songwriter folk musician.

Alastair Moock has been playing music in the Philly area since 1995, with a specialty of family music added after the birth of his twins in 2006. He was first place in the 2020 Songs for Social Change, a project of RAWA, with his song Be A Pain.