Photo: Kyle Bray/WBZ NewsRadio
SOMERVILLE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Music, art, poetry, and protest are colliding at the first annual 'Dream A Better World Festival' in Somerville.
The festival is organizer Melissa Nilles's response to what she calls a sense of hopelessness over the state of the country and the world.
"Literally a therapeutic thing right now is to be like, what can we find that you can do to respond to this that's within your control, right?" Nilles said. "And when we think about it, we do have a lot of power even though some things are out of our control."
The social justice musical event features talent from across all genres who are using their art to address the oppression they are feeling and to inspire change.
Read More: An Italian Festival Celebrates Its 115th Year In The North End
"With music, with intentional activism organizers who are speaking at the event, with examples of like visual artists who are doing things like people of all different types, poets, you know, who are kind of just responding to the moment and hoping to inspire other people," Nilles remarked.
Several activist groups were on-site for the event, for a range of causes like transgender rights, revamping the healthcare system, and fighting for a greener future. Nilles also performed with her band, Ruby Grove, along with acts like Evan Greer, Why Try?, and Chris Walton.
"Essentially, this brings the community together and helps people move out of despair or freeze mode into kind of action and awareness and feeling like you're part of a community. And it's important for people right now to not feel alone, to feel like there's a space for moving forward as a society," Nilles said.
WBZ NewsRadio's Kyle Bray (@KyleBrayWBZ) reports.