FLORENCE — Earlier this week, 10 people gathered in Florence to make music for the third No Kings Day of Nonviolent Action, a national, anti-authoritarian initiative that co-founder Ezra Levin has said “will be the largest protest in American history.”
More than 3,000 events across the country are anticipated on March 28, with an expected turnout of 9 million people. In western Massachusetts, 23 marches are planned across four counties by Indivisible Northampton–Swing Left Western Mass, a local chapter of the grassroots organization founded 10 years ago to challenge the first Trump administration.
At rallies across the country next Saturday — and even earlier through Indivisible’s promotional materials — people may hear “Feeling Good,” a protest song co-written by Emmy Award-winning sound mixer Cory Choy, who penned the widely heard “No Kings in the U.S.A.” last year, and Elena Ciampa, the maestro of the recent local gathering.
Getting permission
Ciampa’s act of resistance was both personal and political. Even though she could sing and play the piano at age 4, her parents didn’t support a musical career. After denying her professional identity well into her adult life, she was compelled to start music classes at Holyoke Community College (HCC) in 2016.
Repressing her calling had taken a toll. “When you get driven crazy if you don’t do something, it must mean that you have to do it,” she said.
Even as she was told by accomplished musicians that she had what it took — she eventually got her master’s degree in music at the University of Hartford on a talent scholarship — she continued to doubt herself. Her vocal teacher at HCC, Ellen Cogen, had to coax her into acceptance.
After inviting her to sing alto in the chamber vocal ensemble, Cogen asked, “You can sing it, right?” Ciampa said yes. Once in the chamber, Cogen asked, “You’re a songwriter, right?” Yes again.
“The way she was sort of … telling me what I was,” said Ciampa, “I was like, ‘Oh wait, I’m a songwriter — that’s my job.
“I’m working on the issue of permission.”
Expanding meaning
Her self-liberation-in-progress has inspired her to champion historic acts of freedom.
In “Dear Doctor K (A Symphony),” a tribute to civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr., Ciampa sings: “The People, We / That’s you and me / The singin’ peeps / Out in the streets / We walk in Peace / And harmony / A symphony / Shufflin’ our feet / For Dr. King / For Dr. King!”
The song caught Choy’s ear in New York City. The two artists had already connected over his protest song, “No Kings in the U.S.A.,” which had deeply moved Ciampa. When she reached out to him on LinkedIn to sing his praises, she didn’t expect a response. But Choy, who owns Silver Sound and is part of the Brooklyn Resisters chapter of Indivisible, loved hearing that his “defiant and joyous” song struck a chord.
About a year ago, he shared his music, about resisting tyranny by the second Trump administration, with Julie Peppito, a protest artist whose signs were displayed prominently during the first two No Kings rallies in June and October 2025. His work spread:
“Because no one (no one) / Can take our dreams away/ And no man (not one) / Owns the U.S.A. (Stand up, fight back!) / THERE AIN’T NO KINGS (ain’t no kings!) / IN THE USA! (we’re rising up).”
In June, Tony Award winner Shaina Taub led the Resistance Revival Chorus in a rendition of “No Kings in the U.S.A.” Then it was released by Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Allison Russell with Gangstagrass, who gave it a hip-hop/gospel vibe, and recorded separately to sound more bluegrassy by folk singer Gabrielle Sterbenz and women artists.
‘Finding Good’
Choy was inspired to write “Finding Good” following the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota in January by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer Jonathan Ross. Good and her wife Becca partially blocked the road and used whistles to warn neighbors of ICE’s presence. The couple was surrounded by three agents before Ross fatally shot her.
“We had whistles,” Becca Good told Minnesota Public Radio. “They had guns.”
“What killed my heart was seeing Congressional Republicans, and the Vice President, just attacking this woman’s family after she’d been killed. I was just like, ‘What are we? I don’t recognize my country, I don’t recognize other people,’” said Choy, invoking the Declaration of Independence. “Human beings are human beings; we have the same inalienable rights. ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ As soon as we make exceptions, it all falls apart.”
Choy wrote the song through tears after his friend told him that “It’s hard to be human”:
“It’s hard to be human/ It’s hard to be human / But we’ve got to do it together / With all of this violence / What are we doing / Are we gonna do it / Forever.”
While he envisioned “Finding Good” as a folk song, Ciampa heard the lyrics and the music accompanying them, in her head, was in a minor key — less joyful, more soulful.
“I’m so grateful for what she’s brought to it. You embrace it, you honor it, and then you add something to it,” said Choy, who asked if she could get a trio together and film a “Tiny Desk” recording, referring to the intimate, live performances played on National Public Radio. The hope is that “Finding Good” will be as influential as “No Kings in the U.S.A.”
Ciampa said yes.
Civil disobedience
In exploding her own boundaries on permission, she found herself promoting “the exact opposite of obedience.”
“It feels awesome,” she said. “It’s the attitude that we are actually supposed to be free to say and do and be what we feel.”
Last Thursday morning, she welcomed eight others into her light-filled Florence living room to record “Finding Good,” a tribute to one individual and a common humanity.
At 10 a.m. former HCC music student Chestina Thrower and current student Brandon Phommasith stood with Hannia Gonzalez, who used to play in an African percussion ensemble. Thrower would sing lead alto, Phommasith lead bass, Gonzalez soprano and Ciampa lead tenor. Except for Ciampa, they were all new to the song, whose lyrics they had to memorize in hours for a series of takes that would end at noon.
A fifth part, by HCC student Sarah Belote of Northampton, who sings alto and tenor, was pre-recorded and will be mixed into the master.
Thrower and Phommasith, both Springfield residents and members of Generation Z, spoke to their fears around the state of the country — and potentially being targeted for speaking out.
“Unfortunately, that’s a fear that people have to have now,” said Phommasith. “But I got into music because of wanting to uplift people and bring people together. Music is like a language that spans everything. Everyone around the world hears music and can understand it.”
Thrower agreed that, ultimately, music was healing, and that healing was at a premium. “We’re losing our rights left and right,” she said. “I can’t imagine the next generation. What world will they have to live in?”
Gonzalez, a Boomer who lives in Florence, overheard them. “My generation worries about your generation,” she said. “Oh my God, what a mess we left you guys.”
Over on piano, HCC student Kyren Harris of Chicopee, who began playing just three years ago, was next to Trevor Pitts, a local Millennial who plays in several bands and at St. John’s Congregational Church in Springfield. Pitts sat on top of a cajon, a percussive instrument he played with his hands.
“I wanted to be a part of this because there’s so much that happens in our country, and sometimes our voices are suppressed,” he said. “So something like this, to speak to a cause like that, I definitely stand for it.”
In the corner, multimedia guru Mark Knox of Holyoke manned the camera, while ghost artists on bass and soundboard, who remained invisible but impactful, rounded out the group.
Call to action
They practiced the three-minute song over and over, laughing and getting to know each other between takes. While Ciampa was the common denominator, many had never met. The room, painted a soft yellow and filled with books and games and instruments, reflected the cheeriness of connection.
The song captured their happy chemistry and sober legacy. Over time, they all adjusted the tempo of the music, which Ciampa wanted to slow down.
“It’s sad, but it’s also like soulful sad,” she explained to the group about the song. “It’s sad, but it’s a little teeny bit mad. We lost this woman who was trying to help our neighbors.”
At noon, the final take was recorded. After the music stopped, and the room was silent for a moment, everyone erupted into applause.
“They’re going to ask us to go on tour,” said Ciampa to laughter.
Next the music will be mastered, sent to Choy, and disseminated through Indivisible and YouTube ahead of the third No Kings Day next week. The local chapter of the organization was not involved in the recording, but is welcome to the material.
“I wake up with a lot of music in my head,” said Ciampa. “What I’m trying to do is pay more attention to it. I feel like I can translate feelings” into song.
And give the country — in its outrage, in its yearning — permission to sing.
Melissa Karen Sances can be reached at melissaksances@gmail.com.
