Between the Wildfires and the Pandemic, Live Music Is Resiliently Pulling Through

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As wildfires ravage the West Coast and continue to engulf lives, livelihoods, and homes, spreading the worst air quality in the world, it’s hard to imagine live music going strong. It does, remotely and safely, and just in time. One of the most thrilling this month comes from California, a powerhouse performance on September 26 by Zakir Hussain, Charles Lloyd, and Julian Lage, any one of whom is must-watch. This is the first time they’re performing as a trio.

Healdsburg Jazz is impressively unfazed by the heavy extra work of safely producing shows during the pandemic and fires, and they’re pulling in deep ones. Watch Hussain on tabla, Lloyd on saxophone, and Lage on guitar, and let us know at recharge@motherjones.com how you hear each and how you imagine their collective pulse to sound.

If you need a pulse check around the clock, our Recharge blog awaits. And mark the date.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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