Like the Liberty Bell, that eternally cracked symbol of the United States, lauded pianist Lara Downes’ Sat/9 concert with special guests “This Land: Reflections on America” offers a fully rounded, 360-degree perspective on the country’s history, resonating with the voices, struggles, and resiliency of its 250 years—and beyond.
The variety of guest artists joining Downes in the genre-defying, centuries-spanning program exemplify the nation’s more optimistic themes—diversity, resilience, protest, and the power of American art. Legendary folk singer Judy Collins, Grammy-winning singer and poet Tarriona “Tank” Ball (of Tank and the Bangas), string quartet Invoke, and the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir bring classical and popular music, traditional spirituals and modern folk to the stage.
It’s noteworthy that creative collaborations are familiar territory for Downes. She’s a sought-after NPR personality, host of video show Amplify with Lara Downes, and has partnered with high-profile artists like Rhiannon Giddens, poet Rita Dove, bassist Christian McBride, and Broadway’s Brian Stokes Mitchell.
Celebrating the nation’s semiquincentennial, the Davis, CA, and New York-based musician launched The Declaration Project, a participatory initiative exploring the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. A video installation of the project—in which fans submitted photos and audio of their hopes for the country’s future—will also premiere new works by composers Valerie Coleman, Arturo O’Farrill, and Christopher Tin at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in July 2026.
Taking a cue from a recent Amplify show, on which Downes recently asked musician and actor Jon Batiste to define what the “the pursuit of happiness” means to him, I opened a late April conversation with Downes by asking her to speak on two very relevant words at this particular junction of history: liberty and risk.
“Wow, risk.” she says. “From my lived experience, it’s when you know you need to do something, and although there might not be a structure for it, you try to do it anyway. Does risk imply danger? I don’t know, but for me, there’s no option except to do this thing. No one is showing me how or providing a platform, it just has to be done. My creativity needs it, now.”
Liberty, she suggests is a more difficult concept to unpack. Children she asks to define it often exclaim, “It’s doing whatever I want!” Downes does not jump into the same pool, but believes liberty does involve having freedom to express and be your authentic self. “As often as there are rules telling you who to be, there’s also your inner conformity critic. Getting some space away from that voice has been liberty for me.”
The Berkeley program is centered on intensely American stories, taking the form of a conversation more than a concert. Downes says one story she was most eager to tell is about Margaret Bonds. Born in 1913, the works of the Black pianist, arranger, teacher, and prolific composer made until her death in 1972 have been chronically underperformed.
“She’s a composer I’ve advocated for, appreciated, and have had opportunities to bring to white audiences. With the choir, we’re doing two pieces of hers, ‘Hold On’ and ‘Troubled Water.’ When you look back at American music, its role is always being a voice for resilience, progress, change, hope. It’s an incredibly important engine for forward motion. That’s particularly true of early Black spirituals. The people were so trapped, and yet this music is always insisting there is a better existence, whether on this earth or in the afterlife.”
Issuing caution, Downes says the hope is “not rainbows and polka dots,” but based on the hard work of being loving. Bonds’ songwriting is similarly exacting. “Bonds is not flash and dash. The work is a brilliant, respectful emotional journey that translates a powerful song in a profound musical framework. She was a great pianist. What’s challenging about playing her work is the same as the challenge playing a Schubert song arranged by Liszt. At the heart is a melody you don’t want to overpower. Everything surrounding it needs to be held in an envelope of focus.”
About her invited guest artists, Downes says they are people with whom she finds community; other artist who do “weird, unexpected things and believe in the global nature of music as a force for change and good.” Collins, she says, is “American history in one body. We established a rapport in 2017, when I put out Holes in the Sky focusing on female composers and performers.”
Downes hosted Tank on her Amplify show the same day it was announced that the artist had won the 2025 Grammy for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album. “We discovered instant chemistry. And with Invoke, they bring to life my perspective as music existing without boundaries. Merging Americana music with grace and beauty; we just connected. I’m bringing these people from other places to Berkeley to share other perspectives.”
She admires the Oakland choir for being multigenerational, authentic, and unique in their approach to gospel music. “I went to their rehearsal and walked out of there thinking singing in a group like that is one of the most healthy mental and physical things you can do. I wish we all got prescribed choral singing. It’s the listening that’s important and listening’s missing in daily life. The chance to reflect on one’s own life and hopes and then listen to other perspectives is the big picture we’re missing. Part of my job as a musician is opening up that space for listening.”
Downes says although her work includes music created centuries ago, it points always to the future. “History in American music is not static. A song like ‘Amazing Grace’ that originated more than 250 years ago has been sung tens of thousands of times, but never the same way twice. Every time, the song belongs to the present and the future because someone is putting their stamp on it.”
A final question about her active social media participation has Downes enthusiastically emphasizing the chance to celebrate other artists’ achievements, scramble her algorithms, and avoid looking only at the horrors of the day. “Seeing people making and doing beautiful, truthful things is useful. I think of it as journaling and staying supported by and supportive of my community.”
CAL PERFORMANCES PRESENTS LARA DOWNES AND FRIENDS, “THIS LAND: REFLECTIONS ON AMERICA” Sat/9, 8pm, Zellerbach Hall, SF. More info here.
