Saul Williams meets Carlos Niño & Friends at TreePeople (Photo by Adam Corey Thomas)
On December 18th, 2024 we gathered among friends, underneath a canopy of oak and black walnut trees, for a summit of sound between two keystone species within our arts ecosystem. One year later, following the release of this live concert with our International Anthem family, the recording of these affirmations of resilience are Grammy-nominated in the category of Best Spoken Word Poetry Album.
On December 18th, 2025 we gather among friends, in the amphitheater of TreePeople where we recorded this album, for an evening of sharing tea offered to us from Greenstone Farm & Sanctuary, listening to and re-inhabiting this concert, and holding a discussion with Carlos, Saul (virtually, as he’s out of the country) and friends from the night’s ensemble.
Free / Donation-based.
We will be outdoors, among the wildlife,
and at the whim of this final week of autumn.
Please dress for warmth, bring extra layers,
and we’ll have hot tea waiting for you
upon arrival from Greenstone Farm (while it lasts).
Also a quick reminder that there is absolutely
no smoking anywhere within TreePeople
or Coldwater Canyon Park.
🌳
A portion of donations from tonight’s gathering will go back toward’s TreePeople’s ongoing work in habitat restoration & providing equitable access to environmental education for our Los Angeles public schools.
Land Back!
An unadulterated opening statement intoned by Saul Williams three times, as he joins Carlos Niño & Friends in sound ceremony underneath oak and black walnut trees in Coldwater Canyon Park, Los Angeles, on December 18, 2024.
The performance, which was organized by Noah Klein of Living Earth on the grounds of longstanding conservationist organization TreePeople, was the first of its kind for longtime friends and collaborators Williams and Niño. The two have been in contact since 1997 and have worked on a variety of projects together, but had never been moved to present in this way. For the occasion, Niño assembled and directed an ensemble of frequent collaborators including Nate Mercereau (Guitar Synthesizer, Live Sampling with Midi Guitar, Sample Sources), Aaron Shaw (Flute, Soprano Saxophone with Pedals, Tenor Saxophone), Andres Renteria (Bells, Congas, Egyptian Rattle Drum, Hand Drums, Percussion), Maia (Flute, Vibraphone, Voice), Francesca Heart (Computer, Conch Shell, Sound Design), and Kamasi Washington (Tenor Saxophone).
Williams’ inspired poetics both fit seamlessly and guide clairvoyantly the electro-acoustic ecosystem created by Niño & Friends – a constellation of deep connections and intersecting linkups from complementary sound makers. There’s the dialogue between not just Niño & Williams but Niño and Renteria’s reciprocal percussions; the intergenerational woodwind counterpoint between Washington and Shaw; the hovering harmonics of Maia’s vibraphone in aerial resonance with Heart’s digital designs. Heart’s sounds also make a beautiful analogue to synth-guitarist Nate Mercereau, whose live sampling and manipulation techniques turn fleeting moments of sonic presence into musical architecture in real time. Deepening the dimensionality of this constellation, Mercereau and Niño are several years into a shared musical simpatico that has yielded dozens of powerful collaborations, making their particular interaction on this recording as spiritual and transcendent as it is subtle and implicit. And there is yet another connection to be highlighted still.
Late in the set, Williams shares an extended reflection on the Dutch East India Trade Company, the indigenous Lenape people on the island of Manahatta, the origins of Wall Street, and a prayer for the end of empire as he incites an epic crescendo from the ensemble, swirling behind the twin winds of Shaw and Washington, spirited by his repeated call “I’ve seen enough.” The smoke has only begun to clear from this emotional apex as Williams passes the torch to poet Aja Monet, who arrests the atmosphere with a soft apocalyptic reading of a piece from her notebook, “The Water Is Rising.”
As Monet finishes her poem and steps aside, Williams follows her foreboding words with a solemnly hopeful return – closing the ceremony with a parable about a firing squad, where one member's dilemma is a "system of belief" allowing for humanity in the heart of an oppressor.
Born in 1973 from the hopes and dreams of a teenager, TreePeople is now one of the largest environmental organizations headquartered in Southern California.
They have inspired, engaged, and supported more than 3 million people to take action for our environment by planting and caring for more than 3 million trees in our local forests, mountains, parks, and our neighborhoods. Through on-the-ground research and educational programs, TreePeople shares knowledge with policymakers, students, educators, and communities around the world.
After fires burn, TreePeople reforests. When schools are covered in concrete, TreePeople creates green schoolyards. When communities experience food insecurity, TreePeople distributes fruit trees. When California is drought-stricken, TreePeople designs solutions to capture rainwater. As the world faces increasing threats from a more hostile climate, TreePeople helps create actionable solutions.