Billboard Critic’s Choice Artist Meghan Cary, who has been revered for her innate ability to unite others through her powerful words and music, has revealed details for one of her most ambitious initiatives to date. Aptly named The River Rock Project, after Cary’s women’s empowerment song “River Rock”, her music video and documentary will celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment (which granted women the right to vote) while addressing the imminent need for our society to come together in the pursuit of equality.
“Women’s right to vote was not won easily. They, too, faced many struggles and unforeseen obstacles including the Spanish Flu”, said Cary. “But these women were brave enough to speak their Truth— even into a society that might not want to hear it. The ‘River Rock Project’ celebrates their strength and is a reminder to us all of the importance of raising our voices against injustice, no matter what barriers we may face.”
At the center of “The River Rock Project” is the Justice Bell (also known as the “Women’s Liberty Bell”) and its role in calling attention to women’s suffrage. The Justice Bell, which is housed at The Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge Park, PA, is a replica of the Liberty Bell that was commissioned by Pennsylvania suffragette Katharine Wentworth Ruschenberger. In 1920, the bell was transported on the back of a modified pickup truck across the U.S. to raise attention for the fight. Its clapper was chained to its side to “remain silent” as a symbol of how women were being silenced by the inability to vote until the passing of the 19thAmendment later that year when it was proudly— and loudly—rung for the first time.
“I decided to make a music video to celebrate this fight we fought and won 100 years ago this year. And when I heard the story about the Justice Bell, about the women who used it as a call to action to ‘unchain our voices’, I realized that this symbol of justice for all had to be a part of it,” said Cary. “We earned that unchained voice…let’s use it.”
“The River Rock” music video and documentary will be filmed and produced by an all-female crew and feature the actual Justice Bell, as well as the direct descendants of Katharine Wentworth Ruschenberger and generations of inspiring women working together to create change. Cary is also inviting women from around the world to “lend their voices” to the project by submitting at-home videos of themselves singing along with “River Rock”, which will be edited into a universal chorus of women raising their voices together.
This “virtual casting call” is open now and more details on how to submit can be found at: https://meghancary.com/casting-call
For more information about “The River Project” visit https://meghancary.com/the-river-rock-project.
For more information about Meghan Cary, visit www.Meghancary.comor on social at @meghancarymusic.
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About Meghan Cary
Named a Billboard “Critic’s Choice” artist after the release of her seminal debut release New Shoes,Singer-Songwriter/Author/Activist Meghan Caryhas made it her life’s work to empower others to speak their Truth by bravely sharing her own. The stage actress turned folk rock powerhouse found solace in words and music after her fiancé unexpectedly passed away – and turned that passion into a platform for inspiring others to “raise their voices”.
“Music is the most potent tool I know to break down walls, and connect with each other,” said Cary, “And when we authentically connect, we can change the world.”
Cary is, indeed, affecting change through her work. Her latest album Sing Louder, which has been heralded as a battle cry for equality, justice and authentic connection, not only reached commercial success as a top 10 release but also featured the women’s empowerment anthem, “River Rock”, of the newly-launched River Rock Project. The River Rock Project honors a century of progress since women won the right to vote, to be heard. It harnesses the energy of that celebration to inspire continued action toward achieving economic, political and social equality for all.
Cary, who is a mother of two, is also an advocate for many social and socioeconomical issues affecting women – including mental illness, homelessness, and disadvantaged mothers and children. She has not only performed countless benefits for advocacy groups such as the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, We Are All Homeless Project, Philabundance, and others, but has also written and performs her own one-woman play On The Way To The Waterfall, about mental illness, moving through grief, and rewriting your story.
Cary’s latest initiative is with the esteemed Lullaby Project, a nationwide project created by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute that connects struggling mothers and mothers-to-be with professional musicians to write personal lullabies for their babies. Working as part of the developmental team on the Philadelphia program, Cary not only partners with women in clinics, hospitals and shelters to create their own lullabies, but also helps them create avenues of connection to soothe, engage and teach their children with music.
Cary is also instrumental in helping her peers find their Truth through her one-on-one coaching and mentoring programs, as well as her work with the Philadelphia Folksong Society (as a workshop facilitator, as well as a performer), Philadelphia Songwriter’s Circle, NERFA (Northeast Regional Folk Alliance), SERFA (Southeast Regional Folk Alliance), FAI (Folk Alliance International), SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists), AEA (Actor’s Equity Association) and DGA (Dramatist Guild of America).
Through her art, activism and passion for lifting up others and helping them “raise their voices,” Cary has proven that no one’s story is ever fully written. There is always a way to re-write the narrative.
