BoomShake

Meet some of our participants!     "BoomShake has given me and my family such a sense of community over the last several years. From taking classes to taking to the streets, my child and I have been so utterly enriched by our experiences with BoomShake. The music we make is medicine for our community--both a cultural homecoming and the opportunity to reate something new, something vibrant, full of justice and love." -Lauren Wheeler  

 Join us to the #PowerTheMovement   Beloved family,   As our community takes to the streets to stop an unjust war, BoomShake is closing out another year of providing a heartbeat for our movements.    In 2023, BoomShake: Organized the second annual Mo’ Roots Festival , a cross-cultural arts festival celebrating the legacy of BoomShake musical director Monica Hastings Smith.  Taught youth ages 4-14 to drum, chant, and speak up for their beliefs through school residencies and community workshops. (Then we brought them out on the streets to make noise for Youth Climate Strikes and the Oakland teachers’ strike! ). Performed and taught on the streets alongside communities in struggle, from Sonoma County indigenous farmworkers’ pickets to the San Francisco Trans March. Brought rhythm and spirit to dozens of Bay Area actions against the bombing and occupation of Gaza in the past two months. As we move forward into the new year, we are committed to c...

Mo’ Roots Fest 2023     ‘Dynamic, Daring, Delightful Dandelion’ Celebrating the Life, Love, & Legacy of Monica Hastings-Smith June 10, 2023 1 - 6PM Liberation Park, Oakland, CA BoomShake Music, in partnership with the Black Cultural Zone, as part of Oakland Juneteenth Liberation Month invites you to a community arts & culture gathering sparked by the seeds, roots, and branches of artist, teacher, mother, and friend Monica Hastings-Smith aka Mo’ Clearly, who transitioned to the ancestor realm in June 2021. This year’s theme ‘Dynamic, Daring, Delightful Dandelion’ is inspired by ‘The Dandelion Song’, which was co-created by Mo’ and her 4/5 year-old forest school music students in 2018. The song celebrates the beauty, richness, and resilience of the Dandelion. Although many in society view them as weeds to kill and get rid of, Dandelions have many medicinal and healing benefits and are experts of survival.

  BoomShake's Street Drumming for womxn, trans and gender non-conforming folks will chant, sing, & drum in support of International Worker's Day and YOU CAN JOIN US ! Enroll in our Spring session and through weekly classes, learn new skills/rhythms, and share our collective experiences via drumming, play/movement and song. Holding values of social justice, creative expression and skill-building, this workshop is open to all levels of player from never-drummed to proficient drummer. We aim to create a welcoming space where womxn, trans and gender non-confirming people can be loud, active, and inspiring participants of culture while building friendships and support systems for the movement. Spring 2023 registration is open to Black, Indigenous and other People of color w/ priority space for Black/African and Indigenous folk. Mondays 3/6 to 5/1 6:00-8:00pm Outdoor Oakland Location TBA May Day March: May 1 Sliding Scale: $0- $350* PARTICIPATION & ACCESS INFO ACC...

  Join dynamic percussionists Cadence Myles and Pedro Rosales for a 6-week intensive youth drumming workshop!   6 Sundays | Feb 19- March 26 | 2pm - 3:15pm | Outdoor location in Fruitvale Oakland Free/Donation based | Ages 6-14 Join dynamic percussionists Cadence Myles and Pedro Rosales for a 6-week intensive youth drumming workshop. Learn drumstick and cajón technique, performance styles and repertoire from Afro-Diaspora traditions, and how to incorporate song, chants, and movement into musical performance. Centering Black & Brown youth ages 6-14 who are interested in serious musical & cultural study. The workshop is free/donation-based, but participants MUST be registered in advance . Questions? Please reach out via: boomshakemusic@gmail.com

  Brooke Anderson Photography   Beloved community, As we close out this year, we wanted to take a moment to thank you for supporting BoomShake’s work.  Because of your continued support, we have been able to foster continued moments of healing, grieving, joy, resistance, rhythm, and magic through gatherings, workshops, school programs, and supporting those on the front lines. We are looking forward to another year of carrying on Aunty Monica’s legacy by bringing rhythm and culture to our movements and communities!  As always, we are a shoestring operation, and we depend on our community to sustain this work. Please sign up as a monthly sustainer or make a one-time donation to help us keep growing and building in 2023! Community donations (no amount is too small!) make a huge difference in sustaining our work.  With love, BoomShake

  "When workers' rights are under attack, what do we do?" BoomShake's Street Drumming for womxn, trans and gender non-conforming folks will chant, sing, & drum in support of International Worker's Day and YOU CAN JOIN US! Register Here! Enroll in our Spring session and through weekly classes, learn new skills/rhythms, and share our collective experiences via drumming, play/movement and song. Holding values of social justice, creative expression and skill-building, this workshop is open to all levels of player from never-drummed to proficient drummer. We aim to create a welcoming space where womxn, trans and gender non-confirming people can be loud, active, and inspiring participants of culture while building friendships and support systems for the movement. Spring 2023 registration is open to Black, Indigenous and other People of color w/ priority space for Black/African and Indigenous folk. Mondays 3/6 to 5/1 6:00-8:00pm Outdoor Oakland Location ...

Guided by our stories, ancestral traditions and childhood memories, we will sing, chant, move, drum, and eat together. As we enter ancestor season, we continue the work of digging into our rootedness, exploring our ancestral rituals around death, grieving, honoring and remembering. Join BoomShake on the evening of November 2nd (Día de los Muertxs / Day of the Dead) for our annual Drumluck, a free intergenerational gathering celebrating our cultural and ancestral traditions through music, games, and food (potluck style) from our community. Bring a nourishing dish to share that reflects or reinterprets your ancestors' food, and bring instruments if you have them! Be ready to make rhythm and move in celebration. Wed, Nov 2nd 2022 5:30 PM - 9:30 PM Oakland Location received upon RSVP (below) Teamwork makes the dream work! If you are interested in volunteering, please sign up here .

VIEW PHOTOS FROM Mo' Roots Fest by Brooke Anderson   Celebrating the Life, Love, & Legacy of Monica Hastings-Smith We invite you to gather as an intergenerational community to honor and celebrate Monica Hastings-Smith, our mentor, auntie, and musical director, who transitioned to the ancestor realm in June 2021. OFFERINGS / TIMES PERFORMANCES: Afro Peruvian Coalition 3:00PM Gbedu Town Radio 3:30PM MJ's Brass Boppers 4:00PM BoomShake 5:00PM INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES + WORKSHOPS: Hella Healed 11:30AM-12:30PM — Kicking off a day of festivities, Hella Healed: Roots of Prosperity will focus on the root and foundation. From setting intentions and grounding energy, we will plant, nurture, and enjoy many seeds. We strongly encourage family attendance. We must heal and build together to get where we wish to go as a people. (This is a closed space for the Afrikan Black community.) Rosesharon Oates 11:00AM-6:00PM — Healing modalities Ietef "DJ Cavem" Vita 1:00PM-2:00PM...

  Beloved family, This has been a heartbreaking year for us at BoomShake and for so many in our community. We were devastated this June by the passing of Monica Hastings Smith—our mentor, auntie, musical director, and guiding light. And we know this loss comes in the wake of so many losses to our communities, from the interlocking impacts of racism, colonialism, pandemic, and climate injustice. In the wake of Monica’s passing, we weren’t sure how to go on as BoomShake, or even whether we should. We knew there was no replacement for the joy, wisdom, and creativity Monica brought to our workshops, performances, and street actions. We considered shutting our programs down. But as we gathered to celebrate and mourn Monica, we heard from so many of you—and felt for ourselves—the power of the space we have created together. We reflected on how essential drumming, song, and ritual are to our collective healing and liberation. We saw the need for a musical space whe...

 Beloved family, friends and community: With heavy hearts, we share that our eternally courageous leader, musical maverick, and forever loved family member Monica Hastings-Smith, aka Moclearly, aka Teacher Aunty Monica has now become a divine ancestor. We are bereft of words to express the shock, pain, and deep sadness we feel. Our organization will be taking a break to mourn this time, and we will keep you updated with ways that will be be celebrating her life and honoring the huge legacy she left.

Join the BoomShake community for some rhythm, song, healing, and community-building in the sun this summer. Pedro Rosales will facilitate weekly workshops drawing on Afro-Peruvian traditions, including cajon technique and vocals. REGISTER HERE! Holding values of social justice and creative expression, this class is open to all levels of player from never-drummed to proficient drummer. We aim to create a welcoming space where Black, Indigenous and People of Color Womxn, trans and gender non-conforming people can be loud, active, and inspiring participants of culture while building friendships and support systems for the movement. This is a community class that's open to families with youth age 6+ and adults. All youth need to have an adult stay with them the whole time - no dropoffs. Bring your own cajon, congas, maracas, or cowbell, or use our instruments. Also bring your own hearing protection - we get loud! Saturdays, 6/5/21-8/7/21, 2:00 - 3:30 PM Open to adults and children 6+...

March 27 -May 15 2021 Join us for an All Ages-All Level Youth, Adult & Families Community Drumming series. We'll meet up outside and drum together, led by our amazing BoomShake cultural artists & facilitators. BLACK, INDIGENOUS, POC, QUEER & TRANS FOLKS TO THE FRONT Saturdays 2-3:30pm March 27 -May 15 2021 Location Shared upon Registration REGISTER MORE INFO It's been a loooooooong year, but there are some signs of hope on the horizon. Let's reconnect safely and start healing with our sacred music medicine! BoomShake cultural leaders Monica Hastings-Smith and Pedro Rosales will facilitate weekly community drumming, play/movement and song. Holding values of social justice, creative expression and skill-building, this workshop is open to all levels of player from never-drummed to proficient drummer. We aim to create a welcoming space where Womxn, trans and gender non-conforming people can be loud, active, and inspiring participants of culture while building fr...

  Online Intro to Afro-Peruvian Cajón for Womxn/Trans/GNC Folks with Pedro Rosales @proyectolando Mondays, November 23 - Dec 14 6:30 - 8:30 pm Online on Zoom Sliding Scale: $0- $175*   ENROLL Through weekly Zoom classes, master cajón player, Pedro Rosales will teach new skills/rhythms on the cajón, technique, and Afro-Peruvian traditions. Holding values of social justice, creative expression and skill-building, this workshop is open to all levels of player from never-drummed to proficient drummer. We aim to create a welcoming space where Womxn, trans and gender non-confirming people can be loud, active, and inspiring participants of culture while building friendships and support systems for the movement. ***Class size is limited to 15 and we have a limited amount of cajónes to borrow - first come, first serve, or you can use your own drum. To request a cajón, register and then fill out the request form*** About Pedro Rosales: Proyecto Lando director Pedro Rosales...