I'm totally blown away by the supreme talent of the Young@Heart Chorus, which covers songs by Sonic Youth, Green Day, Coldplay, Jimi Hendrix, and more, and which features seniors ranging in age from 75 to 94. In addition to singing, many group members also dance and play instruments. They describe themselves as a "stereotype-defying, generation-crossing musical extravaganza," which is wholly accurate. The group started in 1982 at a Western Massachusetts eldery housing project as a way to, as they explain, "joyfully pass the time instead of passing before your time." And boy do they. They've toured dozens of times across the globe, performing all over the United States, Europe, Japan, New Zealand, and more. Talking Heads front man David Byrne, who knows a thing or two about music, describes them as: "Deeply moving, sometimes hilarious, and always wonderful."
Their most recent "virtual show," entitled "10-ALARM FIRE: WE WON'T SHUT UP!", was filmed at the Academy of Music in Northampton Massachusetts on November 23, 2025 and is available to watch on YouTube. It's an absolutely amazing almost two-hour-long compilation of political music, protest songs, and inspirational anthems to keep us all going in these troubled times. They describe the show:
10 Alarm Fire: We Won't Shut Up was our most urgent show yet – protest songs spanning continents and decades, sung in the here and now. It's a performance filled with defiance by people who've lived long enough to know what's at stake. Young@Heart has never been afraid to take risks. At ages 75+, we've seen enough to know how important it is to speak up.
And speak up we did.
The chorus appears in the first half of the show clad in trench coats and fedoras, huddled around 55-gallon steel drum burn barrels as if they're keeping themselves warm on the street. They perform incredible renditions of What's Going On (Marvin Gaye), Broken English (Marianne Faithfull), Fortunate Son (Creedence Clearwater Revival), War (Edwin Starr), and Holiday (Green Day), among many more. Each performance is outstanding, but perhaps my favorite in the first half is Winter in America (Gil Scott-Heron), which is brilliant and captivating. To close the first half, the chorus sings Take the Power Back (Rage Against the Machine) while dancing around on stage almost as if they're in a mosh pit — it's such an engaging performance!
After a short intermission, when the curtains open again, the performers have shed their trench coats and fedoras and are now wearing denim jeans or overalls, and have donned newsboy caps. A cozy campfire replaces the barrel fires, and the group breaks into Revolution by The Beatles. The rest of the show features a slew of powerful protest songs, including For What It's Worth (Buffalo Springfield), You Are Not Alone (Jeff Tweedy/Mavis Staples), Fight the Power (The Isley Brothers), and my favorite of the second half, All You Fascists Bound to Lose (Woody Guthrie). The singing (by the chorus and the soloists), harmonica playing, and dancing are all terrific, as is the live band that accompanies the chorus.
Watch the virtual show anytime here.
Learn more about the Young@Heart Chorus at their website. And check out the 2007 documentary about the choir, Young@Heart. Also, if you're in the Northampton, MA area on Sunday, April 26, at 3:00 pm, you can see them live at the Academy of Music. Read more about that performance here.
Previously:
• Check out 'Elon Musk,' a new protest song by Carsie Blanton, in the political tradition of Woody Guthrie
• Carsie Blanton is making live music great again
• 'Join Ice' is the protest song America needs right now
• Jazz musicians disrupt Arizona Republicans' pro-ICE press event
• John Prine's 'Flag Decal' is apt for this year's Fourth of July
