After the results of the 2024 election, Zahava Wilson was devastated. She wasn’t alone. Many Americans felt a pervasive sense of hopelessness, scared of a second Trump presidency and unsure of how to proceed. Instead of floundering, Wilson took action. She founded the Hurley/Woodstock chapter of the Indivisible network, a grassroots progressive movement created in response to Trump’s election in 2016. On August 17 from 2 to 7pm, Indivisible Hurley/Woodstock is hosting Democracy Rocks, a benefit concert for Indivisible Ulster at Colony in Woodstock.
Democracy Rocks features performances from founding B-52’s member Kate Pierson with Ken Maiuri, country and folk artist Larry Campbell, vocalist and bass guitarist Gail Ann Dorsey, the Bruce Katz Band, singer/songwriter Simi Stone, and Dylan cover band The Bob Cats. The event will be emcee’d by DJ Dave Leonard.
“[The concert] was a brainstorm of one of our members, Andrea Stern. At one of our meetings she said she had this idea, and everyone loved it,” says Wilson. “When we reached out to musicians, when we reached out to speakers, when we reached out to businesses, almost unilaterally, they said yes without hesitation.”
Pierson was one of the musicians who agreed without hesitation. “Doing as much as we can to preserve our threatened democracy is imperative,” she says. “I so welcome the opporunity to do something. Indivisible is such a great organization that can help all concerned citizens to take action.”
Democracy Rocks is an extension of Indivisible’s overall mission: to protect the vulnerable members of their community, and to uplift democratic values. “What I want to say about the concert is that it’s going to be a fun, uplifting, joyful way to come together and show our community that we are here for everyone in this country,” says Wilson.
The concert will also help to fund the purchase of a billboard on Route 28, which will communicate that people aren’t alone in their feelings of injustice, and that there’s a community campaigning for human rights that they can join. “There’s a lot of people who are just very scared and feeling very alienated and alone right now,” says Wilson. “We’re trying to gather more and more people, because we are the voice of the country.”
Hope is at the center of Wilson’s activism. Prior to Donald Trump’s first term, she wasn’t a very political person. But Trump’s presidency sparked an urgency in Wilson to educate and provide for the people at risk in her community. She started doing voter outreach, mentored by political organizer and co-chair of the Woodstock Democratic Committee Amy Fradon. As a result of her and other organizers’ efforts, Hurley’s voter turnout was almost 25% percent higher than the rest of the country.
“On a lot of levels, our country is really at a precipice of breaking,” says Wilson. “Our very democratic principles are being challenged. Our institutions are being attacked and crumbling. So I think what makes this work important is for us to stand together and every single person to say, ‘This is not who we are as a country. This is not what we want.’“
Tickets to Democracy Rocks cost $35, and those interested can learn more and purchase tickets here.
