Songs to uplift us, help us believe in ourselves, care for each other, and be activists in our lives and in our communities. Awareness, empathy, and change is always needed.

Songs To Inspire Change

(4:39) - Folk - FCC Friendly - A traditional protest song, this version starts with a New Orleans style funeral procession feel, and then bursts into the celebration that helps us believe we can continue the hard work of making change happen!
We recorded live in the studio with Betina, Miles, Ra$h Ca$h, Mamadou, Harvey, 

Who’s Who On The Recording:
Betina Hershey, voice, lyrics/composition
Miles Griffith, voice
Rashaan I.A. Salaam (Ra$h Ca$h), freestyle spoken word
Harvey Wirht, drums
Nick Russo (Banjo Nickaru), electric & acoustic guitar

Authors: 
Traditional
Rashaan I.A. Salaam (Ra$h Ca$h), freestyle spoken word
recorded and shot at Soundtronics in NYC
sound engineer & co-producer, Len Monachello

Track 11 on the upcoming album Lift You Up.
ISRC code:QZXRQ2300011
Formatt: Traditional, Global Folk
Length: 4:39

Lift You Up

Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round

(4:33) - Folk - FCC Friendly - Spread Your Wings And Fly invites us all to believe we can each make a difference and change the world for the better!

LYRICS: Spread Your Wings And Fly

Ain’t no use in sitting on the side lines
Watching other folks ignore the signs
Get on up and see what the future brings
When you Spread Your Wings

How you gonna change things if you’re hidden
Cut the strings that keep you where you’ve been
You can change a life, change most everything
When you Spread Your Wings

Spread your wings and fly
Come on, take to the sky
With a dream of unity that sings
Spread your wings and fly
Like a sure sunrise
Come on, spread your wings

See the hope around you like a beacon
Asking you to start what must be done
You got more to say on how (much) freedom rings
When you Spread Your Wings

Spread your wings and fly
Come on, take to the sky
With a dream of unity that sings
Spread your wings and fly
Like a sure sunrise
Come on, spread your wings

And just because you’re down right now
Don’t make it a place you gotta stay
There are friends you don’t know no how
Who’ll help you clear the cobwebs away … yeah

Spread your wings and fly
Come on, take to the sky
With a dream of unity that sings
Spread your wings and fly
Like a sure sunrise
Come on, spread your wings



Who’s Who On The Recording:
Betina Hershey, voice, lyrics/composition
Miles Griffith, voice
Hilliard Greene, double bass
Harvey Wirht, drums
Dr. David Pleasant, percussion
Nick Russo (Banjo Nickaru), guitars, organ, music director, producer

Authors: 
Betina Hershey (music/lyrics)
Nick Russo (music/arrangement)
recorded and shot at Soundtronics in NYC
sound engineer & co-producer, Len Monachello

Track 9 on the upcoming album Lift You Up.
ISRC code:QZXRQ2300009
Formatt: Singer/Songwriter, Folk
Length: 4:33

Spread Your Wings And Fly

(4:47) Folk - FCC Friendly - "Stop This Climate Change" is a poetic and uplifting call to action fraught with cataclysmic imagery of fire, ice, flooding, and the desire for change. The lyric "We’ve got to stop this climate and change" refers to the climate of helplessness and denial that surrounds climate change.

Vocalist/composer/lyricist/performer Betina Hershey wrote the song about interpersonal relationships with each other, but also with Mother Earth, because, collectively, the human race must stop denying climate change.
Featuring a stately co-lead vocal by the gifted Miles Griffith, and spiritually-elevated musicianship by multi-instrumentalist Nick Russo, the excursion concludes with a passage of thought-provoking spoken word by rapper Ra$h Ca$h as a hypnotic Indian-influenced outro propelled by Aditya Phatak (tabla), Mamadou Ba (bass), and Harvey Wirht (drums) carries strength to the promised land. The uplifting vocals, harmonies, rhythms, instruments, and visceral message combine into a bold, and jubilant, declaration of unity. Climate change is not irreversible. Together, we can, and will, make a difference.

"Stop This Climate Change" 
by Betina Hershey (lyrics/music), Nick Russo (music), Rashaan I.A. Salaam (spoken word)

There’s fire in the haystacks, ice deep in your eyes
Flooding in the gutters, and a hailstorm full of lies
Burning in the village, oil slicks in the bay
Storms in ev’ry corner, and no safe place to stay
 
CHORUS
Though it feels so strange
We gotta Stop This Climate Change
We gotta Stop This Climate and Change
We gotta Stop This Climate Change
 
We’ve fallen in the ashes, breathed that choking air
Tried to find the living, but death was waiting there
I’ve been to the graveyard, seen those ghosts escape
Scrambling for the mountains, in the avalanche we made
CHORUS
 
Change the climate, change who we are
Why deny it? We’ve gone too far 
No more blinders or sacrificed lambs 
Lend a shoulder. Toughen our hands 
 
(Instrumental)
 
Well there’s fire in the haystacks, ice deep in your eyes
Flooding in the gutters, and a hailstorm full of lies
Burning in the village, oil slicks in the bay
Storms in ev’ry corner, and no safe place to stay
CHORUS
Make a change, make a change
  
Spoken Word:
We gotta make a change before we wash away
We all gone turn into dust if we don’t change our ways
No love it’s only lust and these killings
The lord give me strength to take care of these villains 
And most importantly please watch out for ya children 
You start em up young teach them how to make a difference 
The kids are the future, the planet’s karma sutra 
Instead of doing right you doing whatever suits ya 
But imma suit up and hit the front lines 
I’m earth’s soldier - I heard it from the grape vines 
But keep it real and understand it’s gone take time 
I FaceTime with God so I don’t face crime 
Get it?
If you don’t please do not sweat it 
My versus like them scriptures from the man up in heaven 
And best believe we bout to fix the earth -  hope the people get this message 
We bout to fix the climate - everything perfect timing 
Brighter than the sun that shine right in July 
And the solstice just passed best believe I’m aligned 
With the universe giving me answers, giving me guidance


Who's Who On The Recording:
Aditya Phatak, tabla
Betina Hershey, voice, guitar, lyrics/composition
Harvey Wirht, drums
Mamadou Ba, electric bass
Miles Griffith, voice
Nick Russo (Banjo Nickaru), guitar, composition, music director, producer
Rashaan I.A. Salaam (Ra$h Ca$h), voice, spoken word

Track 3 on the upcoming album Lift You Up.
ISRC code: QZXRQ2300003
Format: Global Folk
Length: 4:47

Stop This Climate Change

New York City's Banjo Nickaru & Western Scooches are likely the only band infusing elements of world rhythms and sonorities with folk traditions, New Orleans influences, and music from the 1920s. Their forthcoming sophomore album, Get Us Out Of Fearland, due June 15, builds upon the multi-cultural exuberance that made their debut, Very Next Thing, a transcendent breath of fresh air. Elmore Magazine championed its “Remarkable musical dexterity with songs that bask in a genuine roots regimen and a sense of timeless tradition,” with revered tastemaker station WFUV adding, This is a band that must be heard to be believed!"

"This powerful and strong influence for our band brings spiritual energy to our shows," says co-founder/musician Nick Russo. "My musical life has always been surrounded by an eclectic combination of unique musicians and scenes. So naturally, this band is a melting pot of many different cultures, genres, instruments, and sounds. My dream is that people of all races and origins live, play and share all our different world musics and cultures together as one united race, without fear…one love!”

While the band’s debut featured a “Unfailingly high-spirited” mix of traditional fare culled from various cultures, the new 9-track opus showcases mostly original material, with the lone cover, a lively rendition of “A Hundred Miles," the rollicking fiddle-fueled train tune from the 1800s. The remaining eight songs were penned by vocalist Betina Hershey, “Songs are always pouring out of me. Some I catch, and some slip out past my lips and float away. With the help of a cast of music mates, these songs linger so beautifully, with textures that I hadn’t even imagined.”

Highlights of Get Us Out Of Fearland include the playful 1920s verve of “I Don’t Need No Glasses,” the warm lilting embrace of “I Wish The World Knew Why,” the organ-driven, gospel-tinged “Dandelion,” featuring special guest singers, Stephanie Rice and Charenee Wade, and “Soar,” an inspirational song filled with optimism, determination, and perseverance. These qualities soar skyward throughout the 25-minute journey but none more so than on the boisterous groundbreaking title track, which features improvisational vocalist Miles Griffith, known for his work with Max Roach, Paul Simon, and Reggie Workman, and percussionist/vocalist, Dr. David Pleasant, a singular talent who has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Cecil Taylor, and Paul Simon. 

To support the lead-up to the release of Fearland, Russo and Hershey, along with accomplished percussionist Emiliano Valerio, who appears on four songs on the album, will play fifteen showcases at the world renown Folk Alliance International Conference, which celebrates its 30th Anniversary, February 14-18, in Kansas City, MO. Last year, the group was a breakthrough act at the conference, receiving a special invitation to open the main stage of the Kansas City Folk Festival.

“Unfailingly high-spirited.” London Times

"This is a band that must be heard to be believed!” WFUV

"Americana music at its purest and most impressive." No Depression

“It's unlike anything most listeners will find elsewhere.” San Diego Troubadour

“Remarkable musical dexterity with songs that bask in a genuine roots regimen and a sense of timeless tradition.” Elmore Magazine

"Get Us Out of Fearland” https://youtu.be/eBjU_0TyBnw
“I Wish The World Knew Why” https://youtu.be/_nUIaxzjoKc
“Soar” https://youtu.be/wPcqoubvUxo

Get Us Out Of Fearland

Dandelion

Get Us Out of Fearland

NYC-based The Scooches fuses global music with Americana sounds, including folk, roots, New Orleans styles, music of the 1920s, and originals.

"...it's unlike anything most listeners will find elsewhere."
San Diego Troubadour

"Americana music at its purest and most impressive" No Depression 
 
“Unfailingly high-spirited." LONDON TIMES

"It underscores, too, how sounds from another time can be renewed and re-imagined, by creative minds and right hands, in the present moment. (Banjo Nickaru & Western) Scooches are ridiculously fun." Rambles. 

LIFT YOU UP #1 Album - FAI Folk Chart July 2023
GET US OUT OF FEARLAND  #2 Album - FAI Folk Chart April 2018 
THE VERY NEXT THING  #6  Album - FAI Folk Chart September 2016

“Remarkable musical dexterity, with songs that bask in a genuine roots regimen and a sense of timeless tradition.” Elmore Magazine

Led by Betina Hershey and multi-instrumentalist Nick Russo, the Scooches feature standout musicians from New York, Suriname, Mexico, and Sapelo Island, who have performed at Kansas City Folk Festival, Club Passim, Isis Music Hall, Blue Plate Special, WFUV, John Platt's “On Your Radar” and all around the world. Band members have performed with artists such as Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, James Taylor, Jerry Garcia, Julia Roberts, and Wynton Marsalis. Plus they have made appearances in movies such as Disney's "Enchanted,” “Mona Lisa Smile,” “Away We Go” and PBS Masterpiece, “The Chaperone.” 


"Fresh and vital" Classical Arts 

“Nick Russo has worked with artists all over the jazz spectrum. His latest release brings a decidedly unorthodox approach.”DOWNBEAT  ⋆⋆⋆⋆