'Emergency Climate Musical' -- James Gordon sings us a way out of ecological despair

James Gordon thinks that we might be able to sing our way towards a solution in dealing with the climate crisis. Not just through song alone, of course, but by mobilizing groups of people and lifting the mood a little bit with a whole theatrical range of seriousness, scariness, inspiration and hopefulness.

Today on rabble radio, podcast executive producer and rabble radio host Victoria Fenner talks to James Gordon at his debut performance at a house concert in Barrie, Ontario. And he even gave her permission to play some of his songs from the show.

James Gordon, for those of you who haven't heard him before, is a singer songwriter whose career goes back some 40 years. He has recorded over 40 albums and has written for symphony orchestras, musical theatre, dance, film scores, as well as performing his own work all over North America. He was even a song writer in residence for CBC Radio. He's still touring and writing, but now has to divide his time between songifying and sitting in city council chambers of Guelph, where he is in his second term as a councillor.

One of the things he's been known for, especially in the run up to the 2015 election, was his production Stephen Harper – the Musical. That's one of the hazards of tying your songs to the news agenda. Sometimes you have to retire some of your repertoire when the world moves on. But as you'll hear, Gordon is good with that. And now, his tradition of interpreting the news in song and dance continues with his latest production.

Image: James Gordon/Facebook

Music: from "Emergency Climate Musical" – Used with permission of James Gordon