AWAKE MY SOUL: The Story of Sacred Harp
Sat, Jun 20
|Epsilon Spires
Join us for a documentary as ruckus and uplifting as the Music itself! For participants, America’s oldest living polyphonic singing tradition is the key that unlocks mysteries: songs of both beauty and sorrow, of life and of death, that cause feet to stomp and tears to flow, often at the same time.
Time & Location
Jun 20, 2026, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Epsilon Spires, 190 Main St, Brattleboro, VT 05301, USA
About the event
"Nothing is weirder than Sacred Harp"-NY Times
The Earliest American Music is Neither Dead nor Dying…It is Standing Right in Front of You…Singing
AWAKE, MY SOUL: THE STORY OF THE SACRED HARP (81 mins) is as ruckus and uplifting as the music itself. This is a newly remastered, updated and re-edited release by Director Matt Hinton, a prominent figure in Sacred Harp singing is the first feature documentary to explore the history, music, and traditions of Sacred Harp singing, the oldest distinctively American form of music. This haunting music has survived over 200 years tucked away from sight in the rural Deep South and performed mostly at community singing events, which can have up to 100 singers. The events, called “singings”, emphasize participation over consumption since they are not generally performed for an audience. Sacred Harp singers begin each song by intoning syllables which are represented by a specific…
Tickets
AWAKE MY SOUL (Film Only)
JOIN US before the film at 7pm. Earlier 3-4pm we offer a singing school led by Stefan Amidon, followed by shape-note sing, 4-6pm and potluck at 6pm. Potluck and Film are free for shape-note particiants!
$10.00
+$0.25 ticket service fee
SLIDING-SCALE (Film Only)
JOIN US before the film at 7pm. Earlier 3-4pm we offer a singing school led by Stefan Amidon, followed by shape-note sing, 4-6pm and potluck at 6pm. Potluck and Film are free for shape-note particiants! Entry by Donation, your contribution includes Singing School, Shape Note Sing, Potluck and Film! Please give what you can so we can continue to offer future programming like this!
$+Ticket service fee
Total
$0.00