Tucson singer-songwriter launches Song Church

Don't let the name ("church"), location (the former Benedictine Monastery chapel) or the day (Sunday) fool you: the only "religious" aspect to Pietrangelo's new venture is the "communal idea of lifting spirits together."

"This isn't going to be like a political space or a religious space," she explained. "The idea is it's a space where we come together and remember our connection through our own humanity."

The Song Church sing-along hymnal, if you will, is a handful of pop and folk songs that are so familiar that those attending won't need a cheat sheet to sing along. Some songs on the lineup include Tom Petty's "Free Falling," Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi," the Beatles' "Hey Jude" and Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land." 

OK, there is one hymn on the lineup: "Will the Circle Be Unbroken." But the Carter Family in the mid-1930s famously recast that as an iconic bluegrass/country song that perfectly sums up what Pietrangelo is hoping to achieve on Sunday: "Come together in community and positive ways, so that we don't feel so alone," she said. 

"I've just been wanting to offer things that help people feel their connection to each other," said Pietrangelo, whose extensive career includes leading the all-female choir Sister Solace a decade ago. "I feel like that's the thing that hurts the most, is if you feel alone right now with everything going on in the world and so many unknowns."

The song list will also include a couple of contemporary pop songs, including "Pink Pony Club" from Chappelle Roan. 

Sunday's inaugural Song Church will feel like a giant karaoke session; everyone is invited to sing along with Pietrangelo and her band — Pietrangelo on guitar, Thøger Lund on bass, Chris Peña on keys, drummer Casey Hadland and possibly Nick Coventry on fiddle.

Proceeds from ticket sales — $19.74 for adults, $6.23 for kids 15 and younger through larosatucson.com — will pay the musicians, Pietrangelo said. 

She said she got the idea from Nick Forrester, a friend in Boulder, Colorado, who has been hosting his Hippy Bluegrass Church sing-along since 2019.  

“People need this right now. Some of the most powerful musical moments happen when everyone is singing together,” she said, adding that she hopes to make Song Church "a tradition." 

"My hope is that it becomes something that is seasonal like every three or four months," she said.

Sunday's Song Church begins at 2 p.m. at La Rosa, 800 N. Country Club Road. 

While Song Church is not political, Pietrangelo's other choir project is all about politics and protests. 

Protest Choir, which she launched last year, is a group of women who sing classic protest songs. There are nearly 30 members who meet at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 545 S. Fifth Ave., to express their political and social angst in song. 

The group meets on Tuesday evenings in seven- or eight-week sessions to learn the songs and sing together; the spring session begins March 31. Vocalists must have experience singing in harmony, and the cost for each session is $150-$210. You can register at gabriellepietrangelo.com. 

Aside from performing for friends and family, the ensemble has not done any public performances, but Pietrangelo said that could change.