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Dear Friend,
Thank you for registering to attend: Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Anne Feeney. Below, find details about how you can participate.
HOW TO JOIN THE MEMORIAL:
Time: April 3, 2021 3pm Eastern Time/ 2pm Central/ 1pm Mountain/ 12 pm Pacific
Join on Zoom with one click: https://zoom.us/j/93181338668?pwd=TlBpckZ2dXRWSlFyakFMT0hzVGNZUT09
Meeting ID: 931 8133 8668
Passcode: Solidarity
- Please do not share the link above. Instead, do encourage friends and family to register using this link.
- The public portion of this event (from 2:45pm to about 4:30pm will be livestreamed through Anne Feeney's Facebook Page.
SCHEDULE:
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2:30pm-3:00pm (ET): Doors Open: If you enter the meeting during this time, you will hear Anne’s music and see pictures of her life. Soon, you will receive an invitation to join a “Reception Room” where you’ll hear a bit about how we’re running the event, including the Break Out Rooms, which will be open during this time. If you wish, you may visit the Break Out Rooms and chat informally with the facilitators. All Break Out Rooms will be closed shortly before 3:00pm (ET).
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3:00pm-4:30pm (ET): Video Tribute to Anne: The main tribute program features songs, memories, and storytelling from Anne’s family, friends, and musical admirers including Emma’s Revolution, Peter Yarrow, Peggy Seeger, Tom Morello, Holly Near, John McCutcheon, Duncan Phillips, Amy Sue and Daniel Berlin, Chris Chandler, Evan Greer, Bev Grant, Mike Stout, Liz Berlin and many others.
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4:30pm-6:00pm (ET): Break Out Rooms: We will move from the pre-recorded program to facilitated breakout rooms in which participants are invited to share memories and songs in real time.
BREAK OUT ROOMS:
We planned seven main Break Out Rooms from approximately 4:30pm-6:00pm (ET). Each room will be facilitated and will have a welcoming and participatory vibe. Topics reflect the many sides of Anne’s life, the communities she touched, and the people who loved her. Participants are free to visit different rooms as they wish.
TECH NOTE: We strongly recommend updating your Zoom Client to the latest version, because the updates since 5.3 make it easier for you to move around among the Break Out Rooms. This 1-minute video explains the simple steps to do this. If you are new to using Zoom for participatory conversations, look at this simple visual tutorial on the basics of muting, unmuting, and chatting, three functions which appear a little differently depending on the type of device you use.
1. Anne's Pittsburgh Life, Fannie Sellins Room: Come share a hometown tale of Anne's life in Pittsburgh. -- Mike Stout and Steffi Domike
2. Anne's Festival Life, Utah Phillips Room: Think virtual campfires such as the ones at the Kerrville Folk Festival and the Oregon Country Fair. Songs about Anne welcome, as well as poetry, and stories! -- Kris Deelane and Jena Kirkpatrick
3. Anne's Life in Labor Arts, Mother Jones Room: An opportunity to share stories about Anne in the labor culture community, particularly the Great Labor Arts Exchange, Western Workers Labor Heritage Festival, and AFM Local 1000. -- Nina Fendel, Saul Schniderman, and Susan Lewis
4. Rebel Gals Song Swap, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Room: A women’s song swap honoring Anne Feeney's music, featuring a whole lot of kickass hell-raising women artists singing women’s songs. -- Aileen Vance, Bev Grant, Colleen Kattau, and Erin Mae Lewis
5. Song Swap to Smash the State, The Joe Hill Room: Come one! Come all! Song swap. -- Evan Greer, Hali Hammer, and Karen Billard
6. Anne's Family and Extended Family, The William Patrick Feeney Room: Sharing stories of folks from the early years to the present extended family. -- Daniel Berlin and Vern Crawford
7. Stories of Anne on the Road: The Sojourner Truth Room: Hosts, producers and fans, share your stories of Anne's many travels. -- Janet Stecher, Charlie King, and Bob Barnes
RECORDING THE BREAK OUTS:
Anne's family requested we record all break out rooms for the family to be able to view at a later date. The goal is to create a video archive using the footage we gather. Pre-assigned technicians are recording the sessions with the intention of sharing the recordings privately with the family afterwards. However, your image will not be recorded unless you are speaking and your camera is on. Breakout room conversations will not be livestreamed.
SHARING MEMORIES OF ANNE:
Due to the large number of people registered for this memorial, there is a possibility that not everyone who wishes to share a memory of Anne will be able to do so within the time we are together for this event. Please also consider sharing your memories of Anne (photos/videos/stories) to the memorial board that will be presented to Anne's family. Click on this link to view the board and add your post: https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/tgYWiNh9/annefeeney...
DONATIONS TO THE ANNE FEENEY HELLRAISER FUND
If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to defray costs and to support the Anne Feeney Hellraiser Fund for young musicians, please click here. You may also write a check to Labor Heritage Foundation, 815 Black Lives Matter Plaza, NW, Washington, DC 20006. Please write "Anne Feeney" in the memo line.
Discussion Board
Celebrating the Life of Anne Feeney
Start: 2021-04-03 15:00:00 UTC Eastern Daylight Time (US & Canada) (GMT-04:00)
End: 2021-04-03 18:00:00 UTC Eastern Daylight Time (US & Canada) (GMT-04:00)
This is a virtual event
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I heard Anne in concert once, in the late 80's or early 90's. She sang "I Married a Hero" and asked if anyone could translate it into Spanish. My then-husband and I worked on it and I got her the lyrics, though others did so as well. Most of my later contact with her was through Facebook and on CaringBridge, where I followed her experience with lung cancer; Anne was not a real-life friend, but a friend of friends. Years later, a beloved friend was diagnosed with lung cancer. Stricken, I contacted Anne to see if she had any words of comfort or wisdom for my friend's wife. She shared a few things but told me she really didn't think she had anything of value to contribute, and she was tired of talking about her health, which was perfectly understandable. However, a few days later she contacted me and had changed her mind. I wrote to my friend: Anne called back and left me a message - she changed her mind, if you want to call her you can, at 412-xxx-xxxx, though she doesn't think she has too much to tell you, she says she'd be happy to talk with you. She is on tour in Texas at the moment and her schedule is crazy, but I just called her now and she answered. Her advice: 'follow your instincts.'" My friend's wife spoke with Anne and found some much-needed hope. It was extremely generous of her.
I remember the first Great Labor Arts Exchange that Anne attended, and all the arts exchanges going forward ~ what a force she became bringing solidarity through song across the land. She brought a kind of life to the Battle of Seattle, WTO demonstrations Nov. 30, 1999, that only song and art can do. Anne was loved deeply, by our community of labor artists, but by the entire labor movement, and by everyone she touched. I have a photo to share but don't see how to attach it to this message? Joe Uehlein
We have two admins capable of helping here. Both are running other events at this very moment. Both have been alerted to the significant concerns.
I don't want to be a part of this discussion board. If I unsubscribe will I be able to attend the event?
This discussion is too negative for a person that gave so much to her community.
We are working on it.
Is there an admin that can ban whoever "Nicole Lease" is, please? This is absolutely inappropriate and uncalled for.
You need to stop this now. This is untrue, uncalled for, and inappropriate.
Who are you? I suspect you are a bot but if you could answer this question I will listen to you. What you have said is clearly untrue.
Chris, please delete this trash
You lie
A hole ? why don’t you Listen to Elliot Kenin song
“Fuck off and Die!”
Are you a boss or something that rhymes like it!
I don't see where anyone said she was the greatest, so there's no need to refute it, least of all with bad grammar.
I met Mrs. Anne Feeney through being a member of The Fruit of Labor Singing Ensemble. We would do cultural work at the same festivals and concerts. Mrs. Feeney also played at our union Gatherings (United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America). Mrs. Feeney gave me a "F**K White Supremacy" Shirt and Autographed it for me. Thank you Mrs. Anne Feeney and may your legacy live forever.
Sincerely,
Darrion F Smith Jr.
Christy Martin & Aodh Og O'Tuama of Four Shillings Short:
We first met Anne in Maryland at a festival set up by Terri and Sonia of Disappear Fear. We recognized each other as kindred souls from the start. She invited us to come to Pittsburgh and play a concert together, which we did several times. We stayed with Anne at her home there many times afterwards and anytime we were touring through the area, we'd stop in to spend a night or more and share stories, songs and cook great meals together.
We met many other musicians and artists over the years through Anne and were honored to be included in concerts, fundraisers and her circle of friends, musicians and activists.
One of our favorite memories of Anne, was sharing a night of "Political Music" with her at Angelica's Bistro in Redwood City, CA and of Chris Chandler surprising us. Our regular audience didn't know what hit them when Anne and Chris performed together.
We recorded a new version of "Have You Been To Jail For Justice" on our 2019 Album "Icons and Imagery". Anne really loved our version of her well known song. Here is a link if you're interested
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oAuMiNMoEQ
Her influence on so many is huge and her example is one to follow as we continue to write songs of Social Justice and Change. We look forward to being a part of the upcoming celebration of her amazing life.
Enjoyed listening to your version of Anne's classic "Have You Been to Jail for Justice"
In a way, yours is darker than hers - minor rather than major in mode. Even though the words are familiar to most of us, allow me please to suggest that you subtitle your video; the mechanical closed captions are full of lamentable errors! In Solidarity - Leonard J. Lehrman
Thank you for that I enjoyed the video
Anne was a dear friend and I loved her so much. We were kindred spirits who could let time fly by visiting with each other on the phone or during her trips down to Florida, where I live. Sometime in the 1990s, Anne heard me when I was a essayist on NPR's Weekend Edition - or maybe it was the Splendid Table, not sure. The essay was called "Potluck Nation' and it described the weekly potlucks - the Imaginary Fools Sunday Supper Juggling and Singing Club - that we had in our neighborhood and the "large, imaginary cash prize" my neighbors came up with to make the offerings ever more delicious. I'm not sure where Anne was in her travels to hear that but she immediately called someone she knew in Tallahassee - the folk singer Doug Gauss - and asked him if he knew this potluck or knew me. Doug was a regular at the potluck. Anne arranged to stop by and do a show during her Florida tour, and our friendship was born. She was a hilarious and loyal friend, always dishing the latest movement gossip and raging against the machine. Over the years she also helped calm me down with great parenting advice as I raised my daughter. She checked in. She cared. I was part of a memorable weekend we had with many of Anne's musician friends at a group of lake houses in Maryland - back when doctors gave her not-so-long to live due to cancer. It was a pleasure to hold her dear and enjoy shenaningans in the many years after that! I am so grateful to her children, Dan & Amy, and their familes, for caring for Anne when her medical issues grew in recent years. She was lucky to have you and bragged on you constantly, as a mom should. And we were all lucky to have Anne in our lives -- she touched SO MANY PEOPLE. RIP you rabble-rousing and hilarious powerhouse. I miss you so much.
Charlie Anderson
I have known Anne since our college days, when we hung out in bars and she taught me to play pinball. Her generosity and friendship were always evident as I ran into her through the years. She eagerly invited me to sit in on flute with her band when they were playing at a local Pittsburgh bar, having no idea that I was just learning to play that instrument or what I might sound like, then complimented me on my efforts. Much later in life, my wife was impressed when we dropped in to see Anne perform with Chris Chandler at Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem, PA. We were there because our son was attending Lehigh and we noticed that Anne was on the program that evening. I probably had not seen her in 20 years, but when we walked in - a bit early - Anne looked up from setting up for the show and said in a loud voice, "Charlie Anderson! Is that really you?", and ran over to greet us. I have never known a musician with as much enthusiasm and generosity.
" WE will carry it on...our comrade Anne would expect all of us to do this "
Peace and Blessings be with her soul and spirit as we continue with this
important cultural and political work during this period of critical challenges and great hope !
angaza sababu laughinghouse for
fruit of labor singing ensemble
Anne is and will always be my friend, my shero! Singing with her, and singing her music was inspiring and fulfilling. Her work here in Pittsburgh is her legacy, especially the Pittsburgh Action Against Rape. She will be remembered and honored for generations to come.
Renee Williams, Cross Current
My husband, Chuck, and I met early in 1977 at the bar in Sharpsburg, PA where Anne sang most Friday nights with Cucumber Rapids. Two years later, Anne and the reunited band sang at our wedding reception in our newly renovated Highland Park home after band leader, John Nelson, had officiated at our wedding earlier that day. We moved to New England in 1996 but several times have been able to see Anne sing, once at a leftist candidate house event in Worcester, MA and once at Club Passim in Boston. We followed her travels in her newsletter and marveled at her energy and commitment, even during difficult health challenges, to work on labor issues around the country and organize tour groups to Ireland. Our younger daughter is now an RN in PA but did labor organizing for a number of years and is an ardent admirer of Anne as an icon for workers’ rights.
I most remember Anne for her song Have You Been to Jail for Justice. Once, over 40 years ago, I chickened out from going to jail for justice when UT Austin students were chaining themselves to 100 year old oak trees to try to prevent the university from cutting them down. I was there but too weak to join them. Now I am a retiree living in Austin and waiting for my 2nd COVID vaccine before I start hitting the streets again for justice. This time I'll proudly go to jail. Anne made a major difference in my life, reminding me every time I saw her at the Kerrville Folk Festival that I needed to stand up for my beliefs and values.
Anne lived her life as a true activist. I admired her for her dedication and passion for her causes. Life is brief, we leave the legacy that we do, Anne's was impressive, loud and luminous ~ David Card
Now the labor leader's screamin' when they close the missile plants,
United Fruit screams at the Cuban shore,
Call it "Peace" or call it "Treason,"
Call it "Love" or call it "Reason,"
But I ain't marchin' any more.
Phil Ochs "I Ain't Marchin' Anymore" (1965)
Helena--Thanks for your note; you really gave a good idea of Anne's activities in the labor movement and you well captured so much of who she was.
I've known Anne for a number of years--I can't remember when we met--but we always met at Labor Notes conferences and find time to talk. I'd also catch her in concert any time I could. Always fun and so encouraging. But I want to share my favorite Anne Feeney story.
Although many of you might not know it, the AFL-CIO (and before, the AFL) has long had a foreign policy that has been terrible, and is still pretty funky today: they don't report these operations to members, they don't say what they're doing, they don't tell members that approximately 90% of this funding comes from the US Government, under both the Democrats and Republicans. And they've help topple democratically-elected governments--Guatemala in 1954; Brazil in 1964; Chile in 1973; and supported an effort that failed in Venezuela in 2002--and supported dictators (Marcos in the Philippines, Suharto in Indonesia, Mobuto in Zaire, to name a few), etc., etc. As one of the people who has been responsible for unearthing a lot of this--this is confirmed, not speculation--I have been particular aware of the reactionary work by George Meany and Lane Kirkland, former presidents of the AFL-CIO.
In 2009, the United Association for Labor Education (UALE) had its annual conference at the George Meany Center in Silver Spring, MD, just outside of Washington, DC. The conference was held in the Lane Kirkland building. The highlight of one night was drinking in the bar in the basement of the Kirkland building. and following Anne in singing "The Internationale," the anthem of the global labor movement, in conscious defiance of both Lane Kirkland and George Meany! The smile on Anne's face could have lit up the universe: she knew what it was all about!
Anne Feeney, presente! Gone maybe, but not forgotten!
Kim Scipes, author of "AFL-CIO's Secret War against Developing Country Workers: Solidarity or Sabotage?" (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2011 paperback).
Nicely related, Helena. What a story - she became a troubadour-teacher as well as a performer at the schools. That's integrating art and politics in a really organic way - liberation pedagogy?
Sorry -- that was posted by me, Helena Worthen, but it came off a post by Joe Berry who forwarded it to me.
I got hired by the U of Illinois Labor Ed Program in 1999 and was told that part of my job was to run the annual Polk Women's Schools, a 3 or 4 day residential labor ed thing that was fully funded including $ for "culture." I had seen Anne at Labor Notes, performing during the fundraising banquet, and was knocked out by this skinny tall woman all in black with long flaming red curly hair. So, to get some "culture" into the program, I googled her, found a phone number, called her up and invited her to come. She said "Yes" right then and there. From then on, except for the year when she got her first cancer diagnosis, she was the music at POlk. "Music" is an understatement. She would arrive with guitar and play and sing whenever it seemed appropriate throughout the school, making a kind of musical backdrop to sessions on safety and health or collective bargaining. She would organize a choir that sang at graduation. She would write songs while she was there. But it wasn't just music. Since she had been at just about every major labor event -- strike, campaign, etc -- for the last 20 or 30 years, she knew the details of what the big conflicts were about. As the indispensable labor singer for picket lines or rallies, she was also close friends with the leaders, so while we were "teaching" labor history and trying to use current examples, she would be able to say, "Here is what I saw going on and here is what actually happened." She, along with Ruth Needleman and Judy Ancel, were the core teachers for POlk year after year. In her last year she was fighting to try to get the energy and focus to work on the story of her grandfather -- I forget his first name, but his last name was Feeney -- who was a notable labor figure; I don't know how far she was able to get with that. One of a kind, bigger than life, a model of courage and intelligence -- and did anyone know she was also actually a lawyer? I'm glad to have lived i the same world she lived in and proud of having been her friend.
when my daughter was in about 5th grade, she entered a Women's History Month county-wide essay contest. She chose as her subject, Fannie Sellins because she was familiar with Anne's song about this labor activist (and so much more). She won first prize - a bike (and a BIG FAT dictionary) - but the real prize was that Anne invited her to read her essay in front of a large audience at a Women's History Month event at CCAC. Anne showed our daughter great excitement and admiration, which meant a lot to her - and to our family.
Lovely story. But when and where did it take place? And what does CCAC stand for?
Community College of Allegheny County (PA)
How sad! She is a terrible loss.
Gary Kanter, your comments moved me to tears. I especially like, "Rest in power, Sister Anne."
As a newly-oradined host, Anne was one of my very first interviews on "We Do The Work", our weekly half-hour labor radio program originating from the Skagit Valley in northwestern Washington state. I had met her a couple times during her various tours through the region...and even performed at a Tacoma-based fundraiser to assist with her medical fees. More recently, I shared a stage with her as we both performed to raise money for mutual friends who were enduring severe medical and financial days. I, of course, opened...well aware the audience was primed for Anne. I felt like Tiny Tim warming up the audience for Neil Young.
Anne was a great interview. All I really had to do was start a sentence with "tell me about _______" and sit back as she regaled me with stories of her family history in labor activism and her own path as a musician, songwriter, labor lawyer, and AFM local president. We discussed the brain condition that was supposed to have killed her years earlier...but like many of her other foes, didn't have the guts to confront her.
Of all the issues we discussed, the most compelling was the debate as to which of our fathers had been the oldest draftee in WWII. After all the math, her dad won the dubious title by a matter of months. It was only recently that I learned my dad had actually been born two years earlier. I never had the heart to publish the correction.
Theopening and closing theme of "We Do The Work", throughout its entire run, was Anne's version of John Fromer's great song of the same name. So, as we expanded our market to about eight states, more and more listeners were introduced to us by Anne's singing. She was heard more than any of the various hosts and commentators. The show, in a way, was an Anne Sandwich.
Due to Covid closing our studio and other issues, we decided to discontinue the show. We unanimously decided our final broadcast would be a rebroadcast of her interview. As it is wont to do do, fate added a major piece of irony to the event. Anne Feeney died within a day of that broadcast. Rest in Power, sister Anne!
Here is the link to the final broadcast of "We Do The Work" featuring the great Anne Feeney: https://beta.prx.org/stories/356389
Thank you!! I am sharing your link because this is what we do, isn't it -- as we keep our Anne Feeney keeping on.
Kipp Dawson; Pittsburgh
We played the final broadcast on KGHI 91.1, Westport, and KGHE 89.1 Montesano. It was a bitter-sweet show and we lost both Anne and a terrific labor-oriented radio program, "We Do The Work."
Thanks.
I have a bunch of recordings of Anne and Chris in Minidisc format but at the moment no playback gear set up to make them postable. Running into Anne substantially changed the course of my life twice, about 4 years apart, each time involving her suggestion that I really to simply abandon the path I was on - say goodbye to the one that was clearly not working for me in way too many ways - and just go to Kerrville, and I did not do it eaither time, but in each instance, I still got the message within a couple of months. I am notoriously a quick study but a slow learner. One of the very wildest street-racing scenes I have ever witnessed looking through the windshield was in Victoria BC when Chris was literally pedal-to-the-metal like he was a NYC cab driver on a NASCAR track, dodging and weaving forcing the minivan that he and Anne were touring in into gaps that it was way too big to fit into, trying to get me to the ferry to get me back to Port Angeles cuz I had a filing deadline looming that I had to be back in Port Townsend to get the ball through the hoop. All the moment needed was Chuck Berry singing Maybelline ... or better yet, us singing it, and Chris running counterpoint commentary. But here we are at the end of the line and I feel like I let you down Anne. I spent the last day of your life trying to get it into a song and onto a recording, and it is still there. I owe you a lot.
On a scale of one to even i just can't..When I think of Annie I see her smile, I hear her voice, I hear her laughter. I see that head of Red curls. And break down in tears. To know I'll never sing with her again let alone hear that unique voice of hers..It hurts.
Sleep my Shero we got this.
Jamie Crawford.
Detroit.
I only met Anne Feeney once, sharing a bill with her and the Solidarity Singers of the NJ Industrial Union at the American Labor Museum in Haledon NJ, May 1, 2003. But I knew at once she was a force of nature. Appreciated many of her songs, especially "Have You Been Jail for Justice?" and "For Gene Debs," the latter of which I performed in my own version, in tribute to her. I shall never forget the sound of her laughter when she first heard the alternate lyrics of Tom Lehrer's "Folksong Army" invoking "the fight against poverty, war and injestice - and chords that are too hard to play!"
- Leonard J. Lehrman
You can also post stories, photos and videos on the Anne Feeney Memorial Kudoboard which will remain available after the Tribute date. https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/tgYWiNh9/annefeeney
I met Anne at the 1995 Folk Alliance Conference in Portland and shared songs and feelings concerning music and politics and such. Was fun attending the evening jams in her room with a wide variety of musical folks. A few years later she was coming to several Oregon Country Fairs as Chris Chandler's musical partner. Also was present as she sang at the WTO Conference protests outside in Seattle (where I live). Always admired her complete Deadication to the cause and her courage even more than her music which was also excellent!. Have You Been To Jail For Justice is a classic and will keep her name and reputation in the common people's cultural community far into the future. Well deserved! Namaste!
I remember Anne bringing her great performing energy to Western Workers, combining synergistically with others like Jon Fromer, Pat Wynne and Francisco Herrera, and bringing down the house. I also remember her on tour once, performing at New College in San Francisco and concluding with us singing "Solidarity Forever". We were done, but then she looked around, figured we would be receptive and carried us into a rousing rendition of the Internationale. Anne Feeney, ¡presente!
Pat Wynne is the ex-wife of a first cousin of my father's, the mother of a late second cousin of mine, and grandmother of one of my second cousins once removed. I have lost touch with her. Can you help me find her again? Thanks! Leonard J. Lehrman ljlehrman@nassaulibrary.org
I tried posting a video of a cover of Anne's song, "For Gene Debs," but it did not seem to "take": https://youtu.be/OnLl0AWDqcg
Actualy highlighted and copied link to an email highlighted that and clicked and it took awhile then worked
Blessings and Solidarity,
STORM
Chris Chandler introduced me to Anne sometime in the late 1990's. It seems like I've know Anne and Chris forever.
For years, I volunteered at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival on the NY/western MA border.
In the summer of 2000, Chris and Anne were playing at Falcon Ridge, and they needed a ride. I don't remember how it all came together, but I do know that together, Chris, Anne, my 15-year-old nephew and I drove to the festival in a large red pickup truck I had rented. I felt like such a VIP being the driver and friend to these two performers! When the festival was over, we drove back to my suburban NY apartment. It was late. They spent the night. I got to share a bed with Anne {swoon}. That was always my inside joke with her. We've slept together :) Anne will live on in the hearts and memories of all of us and of everyone who is touched by her songs. Godspeed, friend
More than half a century has passed since Anne & I became friends in our teenage years. We were both learning guitar (she had a nice Harmony archtop, I had a Silvertone) but even then I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up with her. That's one thing I've always admired about Anne, once she makes up her mind to do something you better believe it's gonna get done. I'm fairly certain that the first time I played on stage was with her at a student coffee house at her high school. Beyond high school, we went off in different directions but kept in touch and got together when we could. In my mind, Anne will always be a person who loved life and found joy and meaning in sharing what ever she could with the people in her life, be it music, support, wisdom or a simple (or not so simple) meal. I cannot see Bananas Foster on a menu and not think of Anne. Fortunately, we were able to connect a few times over the last decade and I'm saddened to know those times won't come again but Anne will live on in her music and in the hearts of those who knew her.
"They can lock me up as best they can, yet songs can never know those chains. The song is sacred as the wind, we are just the harp that's singing, a traveler passing through." Jack Hardy "The Tinker's Coin
Anne was a generous and loving and fierce force of nature. I crossed paths with her at concerts and Folk Alliance conferences and occasionally political events, when she would share her recommendations for performers she respected and loved and give her latest news. Following very soon after her near-fatal bout of lung cancer she proudly appeared at an event to sing and show off her bald head; I told her she was a personal hero of mine, which she scoffed at. But a personal hero she remains.
Speaking to a friend about a recent loss , we agreed that the best tribute is to be able to say truthfully that a person did more good than harm and left their part of the world a little better for having been in it. Anne did all those things...she was a force. She always knew what side of the fence she was on, and she did whatever she could to support those who were there with her. Her gift of songs that say what we need to hear is the best legacy. I am glad I got to sing and laugh with her a bit. To her family and close friends I hope they can hold those gifts she gave close as comfort.
I met Anne in Pgh. at an irish pub in Mt. Washington called Mahoney's. It was early in her career, about 1974. She was quite the character even then. We met many times after that but lost touch because life got in the way. She sure had a mission in her life and she touched so many people during her short time with us. I admired her drive, enthusiasm and humor. I will always have fond memories of her fun loving nature and her lust for freedom. Rest in Peace dear Anne.
I met at the Kerrville Folk Festival in the late 1990s and we stayed in touch over the years. She was generous to let me use the lyrics to her song "What Ever Happened to the 8 Hour Day" in my chapter on Conflict Theory in my theory textbook. She will be missed by everyone at the Kerrville Festival, and most certainly, by me. She was a force to be reckoned with and I'm sure that she's raising hell with the angels and organizing them too!
My memories of Anne are intimately tied to the explosion of activism in Pittsburgh in the 1990s to the early 00. She almost always managed to be in town to sing at rallies and marches against the wars and also at Thomas Merton Center events.
Her song and spoken word collaboration with Chris Chandler were the best.
A few years ago Anne wanted company to drive her car to the Oregon Country Fair from Pittsburgh Pa following her I volunteered for go only to find she wanted to drive like Jimi Hendrix Cross Town Traffic aka 90 miles was the speed she would drive as “she was on her bucket list!” I explained I could do 5 mph over the speed limit but I still had to pay car insurance! We stopped in St Louis then non stop to strawberry hot springs in Colorado then solo to Boise Idaho be fore landing at the country fair a day ahead of schedule performance!
I remember her at Wobbley Joe's on the south side on Jane St.
Was wobbly Joe’s in Pittsburgh?
Was wobbly Joe’s in Pittsburgh?
Yep. At 27th and Jane. I still have a t-shirt from there.
Yes, Wobblie Joe's was in Pittsburgh.
My partner and I were lucky to spend a week with Anne, touring Ireland. We were the only Canadians on the trip, with a group of lovely Americans. She was not well on the trip, but ploughed through it with wit and grace. Such a loss!
Anne has been a friend to myself and my late husband, Berk Snow for many years. I will miss her at the Oregon Country fair and seeing her on her tours to Northern California. We were birthdays buddies and always connected near our birthdays in July.
I know that her and Berk are over on the other side rabble rousing with the best of them. Miss you, Anne
We imagine Anne is in heaven organizing the angels into a heavenly labor union! We miss you cousin.
See Harry Pollett, a song about an organizer in heaven.
Anne Feeny crossed my path several times on her travels. Always smiling and a song to brighten your day. She stood up for working people and those confronted with injustice. She is now with Joe Hill and they are in concert with angles. She will be always remembered and rest beside another Women whom left her mark on the Labor Movement, Mary Harris...Mother Jones
In college i went to see Peter, Paul and Mary. They played a song called Have You Been To Jail For Justice. After the concert i talked to them about it and learned they hadn’t written it so i decided to track down the person who did. It had a profound effect on me and like any young person with the resources of the newly formed internet and a “stick my nose in the middle of everything” personality - i tracked her down and emailed her. We started exchanging emails and she invited me to come see her at a little gig she was doing. So a friend gave me a ride (several hours) and we went to see her. I even made a shirt. Lol. It was a fun night and we hit it off.
on the 17th -as i went to send her a message, I learned that she passed. It had been a couple years since we’d talked and i had something to share. I was going to tell her about a couple of young musicians that i thought she would like.
She was the first person to tell me that if you didn’t have women you could look up to in leadership roles than it meant you’d just have to go become that person and bust yourself way into the boys club. She said - sure there’s a ceiling - but it’s made of glass - pull off your heel and break it.
Her songs were very witty, smart and salty. She and i certainly didn’t alway agree and over the years we talked about those differences, but she was someone i really respected. She’s worth a listen. I once argued that the true “use your voice for change” folk movement died with Phil Ochs, but she was a big exception to that. I hope her mantle will be carried on my other young musicians and shit starters.
The word is quieter today without her voice. It will take others to sing louder.
I met Anne only a few years back through her amazing daughter, Amy Sue, when we both volunteered on same crew at Kerrville Folk Festival. I found her to be all that she ever was and then some. Her songs energize & inspire me to find my voice for justice. Anne showed me we can all make a difference in our own way. Bless the family with “a peace that transcends understanding”(Phillipians 4:4-6 during transition from Anne here on Earth and Anne in Spirit. Big loss.
Linda and I originally met Anne at a concert in Olympia, WA where she was performing. We bought a CD and we became instantly fans. We told her that we were establishing a community public radio in Grays Harbor. She immediately suggested that she could put on a concert to help raise funds to raise the tower for the radio station. That began a warm relationship that resulted in Anne performing at 4 different concerts here in Grays Harbor. Each time, Anne stayed with us at our "bunk house" and we had wonderful times talking politics, environment and music. We miss her so much.
R.D and Linda
I stayed with Anne years ago at a PMN gathering, and we stayed in touch over the years, though we didn't see each other much at all. One tie, after not being in touch for many years, I called her and she began singing a line from a song I had written for Ben Linder. I have always played her songs and she is a shining model for so many people to follow. Blessings to her family and hige community of extended family and friends.
I had the privilege of hosting Anne in my home when she came through Coos Bay, Oregon on the Sing Out for Single Payer tour in 2010. Our paths crossed a number of times after that, including several reunions at the Oregon Country Fair, where she preformed every year. I remember when I was told she had cancer and the great relief I felt when she announced that she had been declared cured. My wife and I always intended to go on one of her Ireland tours, but never got around to it. I'll never pass up such an important opportunity again...
Come to the Road Stories breakout room on April 3. We'd love to hear more stories.
Was on Anne's email list for many years and 'followed' her trips and tours. Loved it when she got to Vancouver, BC.
When we formed the Solidarity Singers of the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center in Boulder, Colorado back in 2012, Anne Feeney's Have You Gone to Jail for Justice? was one of the earliest songs in our repertoire. What perfect energy and ideas it conveyed!
May your spirit rest in Peace Anne Teensy
May your loved ones, friends and fans heal, cope and carry on your beautiful singing spirit!