From the morality of science and the banality of pandemic lockdown to struggles with money, police, queerness and being the only girl in the band—the diverse topics of songs composed by Washington State University students reflect a wide range of social concerns and music created to address them.
Demonstrating the knowledge and skills they gained in music instructor Gabe Condon’s Songwriting II course this spring, 11 emerging songwriters will present a virtual showcase of their original, recorded compositions at 7:30 p.m. on Wed., April 21, on the WSU School of Music’s YouTube channel.
For their capstone project, the students wrote songs focused on topics of protest and social commentary, one of several thematic areas they studied in the semester-long course.
“Given many recent, consequential events and social unrest—including COVID-19, the Black Lives Matter Movement, and the election of a new U.S. president—it seemed appropriate for students to examine the historical context of protest music and how it relates to modern social movements and modern songwriting,” Condon said.