POWER IN PEACE & MEDIA: Second annual Songs of Peace at Waterline

Last August, Wilmington Peace Festival and encore partnered to present Songs of Peace at Waterline Brewing—an event dedicated to this notion of collective and individual peace. This year, Songs of Peace lands on Juneteenth this Friday, June 19. We didn't choose that lightly, and we hope to effectively honor what the day represents to our country and its history by doing a simple thing: come together as a community.

The lineup has grown since last year's inaugural event, when five acts sang nothing but songs of peace. This time, music comes from Cosmic Groove Lizards, The Ford Project, Jayce Esterline & Friends, and Soul-R Fusion, with a special poetry showcase from Mics Wide Open at the end. 

Our speakers between sets reflect what this particular day of Freedom and month of Pride means to the Cape Fear community: Cierra Washington of Northside Food Co-op, Cedric Harrison of the WilmingtoNColor Tour, Dr. Lesley Daspit of UNCW, Sarah Grace Moxley of the LGBTQ+ Center, and Pam Cook of SiembraNC will all take the mic, with vendors and interactive activities rounding out the evening. Free for all ages and open to everyone.

Photos from Songs of Peace 2025. Photos by Kyle Grossman

Last year, Wilmington Peace Festival founder Anna Mann and I talked about the ideas behind this event and our partnership. If you want to learn more about those origins, please read “Heart & Soul” by encore contributor Gwenyfar Rohler. As we prepare for this second year, I would like to briefly iterate the why behind encore’s participation.

For better or worse, media has proven its power when it comes to public conversation, and for encore's part, my hope is to offer productive and equitable spaces for conversation that propels our community forward. In general, I think the path to peace within ourselves and each other is paved with curiosity and understanding, and the media we consume and share in—newspapers, books, movies, art, theatre, music—can put us on that path or knock us off of it. 

All that said, join us for what I expect to be another fun event with folks who want to walk that path to peace with music, poetry, art, vendors and activities—with food and beer available, too. 

Proceeds support both Wilmington Peace Festival and encore, the same model as last year: donations help pay our musicians, speakers, and sound crew, with the rest going toward each organization's ongoing work. For WPF, that's building toward a full-scale peace festival. For us at encore, it's the slower, less glamorous work of keeping community journalism alive and free in the Cape Fear region.

Details

Songs of Peace Friday, June 19 Waterline Brewing Company | 721 Surrey St.

Free and open to the public

Event page