“Songs of Slavery and Emancipation” Tour Comes to John Brown’s Hometown
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Daniel Morrison | 860-605-6951 | dan (at) johnbrownproject.org
Historic Musical Journey Along the Underground Railroad Stops in Torrington, CT June 22
TORRINGTON, CT—May 16, 2026—The John Brown Project welcomes the Singing a Journey of Freedom: Songs of Slavery and Emancipation Tour to Torrington, Connecticut, the birthplace of abolitionist John Brown, on Monday, June 22, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church, 220 Prospect Street.
The Torrington performance is part of a two-week national tour running June 12–25, tracing the routes of the Underground Railroad through seven states as part of America’s 250th anniversary commemoration. The tour begins in Lexington, Kentucky and concludes at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, where John Brown led his historic 1859 raid. Torrington is one of nine tour stops.
Led by music historian Dr. Kathy Bullock, the Berea Choir performs songs of resistance, hope, and freedom drawn from the Songs of Slavery and Emancipation project (a book, double-CD, and documentary film)—compositions written more than a century ago and arranged for modern audiences. “Some of these songs had been buried for centuries, but their meaning and power, still rings true,” says Dr. Bullock. “Traveling the actual routes of the Underground Railroad, standing in the places where enslaved people sang, prayed, and fled toward freedom, transforms this music from history into lived experience.”
Torrington holds a singular place in the tour’s journey. John Brown was born here on May 9, 1800, and his childhood in Torrington shaped the moral convictions that would drive him to become one of America’s most passionate abolitionists. The June 22 performance extends Torrington’s Juneteenth celebration, the national holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.
The event is made possible in part by a grant from CT Humanities, with production support from Our Culture is Beautiful and fiscal sponsorship and operational support from the Torrington Historical Society. The performance will be filmed as part of Pushing the Rock, The John Brown Project’s forthcoming documentary series about systemic racism in America.
Admission: $20 suggested donation; $10 suggested donation for guests bringing a nonperishable food item for the Torrington food pantry.
The John Brown Project (www.johnbrownproject.org) is a Torrington, CT-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit media organization dedicated to truth in history. Through documentary films, original music, educational events, and scholarly programming, JBP produces and distributes culturally significant content for the public good. The organization’s film His Truth Is Marching On received the American Association of State and Local History’s Award of Excellence and the CT League of History Organizations’ Award of Merit
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