Planting Gardens is the latest album by singer songwriter and activist Joe Reilly. The result of a three-year process of songwriting, musical collaborations, and spiritual activism, this album offers listeners a hopeful vision of peace, non-violence [+]Planting Gardens is the latest album by singer songwriter and activist Joe Reilly. The result of a three-year process of songwriting, musical collaborations, and spiritual activism, this album offers listeners a hopeful vision of peace, non-violence, and love within the context of community building. In times when positive messages are difficult to find in the media, Reilly waters seeds of compassion and understanding with poetic lyrics, beautiful melodies, and soulful rhythms.
Planting Gardens gives us a tour of Joe’s experiences and reflections of life in Detroit and Chicago and of the earth and waters in between.
"City oh city I sing to your soul. Let the babies and seedlings be free and grow. Before you replace them with buildings and roads. Remember the sunlight and flowers who grow." ~Follow the Sun
Cultivating soils of our consciousness with messages of environmental justice and stewardship, Joe’s songs appeal to all who seek a deeper connection with themselves, with each other, and with the earth.
"Maybe I should be a little more like the river, flowing slowly, into the sea." ~The River
Throughout his travels of natural, urban, and spiritual worlds, Joe never loses sight of his origins.
"Michigan is the state where the lakes are great and the water is fresh so you can hydrate." ~The Michigan Song
Backed by his Chicago-based band The Faith Project, Reilly recorded the album with Kalamazoo engineers Ian Gorman and John Campos at the Leaven Center, a retreat and study center nurturing the relationship between spirituality and social justice in Lyons, Michigan. The spiritual activism supported by the Leaven Center as well as the beauty and serenity of its land provided the perfect conditions for the germination of this creative project. A ten-minute enhanced video portion of the album documents this creative process and includes interviews and scenes of the Leaven Center recording sessions.
The Faith Project consists of jazz drummer Jon Faro, soul gospel bassist Alejandro Cornejo, Haitian Master Percussionist Camelo Romelus and special guest vocalist, Chicago’s Native soul diva Michaela Marchi. Their multicultural musical chemistry transcends barriers of race, class, and religion to create a solid foundation of world rh
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