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Jazz Parade for Democracy: Highlights, Interviews, and Overview Article

Lady Liberty, in green robes and in chains and looking very sad, holds her arms out to the spectators imploring them to help her.

Lady Liberty imploring the crowd to help her during Act 1 (Photo by Rebecca George Photography, used with permission)

The steadily accelerating erosion of American freedoms under the Trump Administration in 2025 motivated two Indivisible Charlottesville members, Nancy DeWitt and Isabelle McMahon, to create a really ambitious piece of performance art, a "Jazz Parade for Democracy" staged on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall.

On November 1, 2025, over 100 performers (a 45-member brass band, 30 choral singers, and 30 costumed performers with props) staged a 90-minute outdoor extravaganza for an audience of roughly 750 people, many of whom became impromptu participants!

To see highlights, find out how we pulled it off, or hear what inspired us to take on this big project (far outside of anything most of us had ever tried before), follow the links below.

Video excerpts from the three Acts:

  • Act 1, “Mourning” — Objective: raise awareness about the potential losses and setbacks we face under the current MAGA administration, highlighting the urgency of collective action.

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  • Act 2, “Join the Movement” — Objective: Inspire confidence that both individual and group efforts can create meaningful change, encouraging others to join and support the movement.

  • Act 3, “Celebrate in Unity” — Objective: Foster a sense of optimism and joy within our community, showcasing how resilience and unity can inspire hope and positivity for the future.

Indivisible Charlottesville organizer Dan Doernberg did a series of video interviews with some of the key people involved in the production. Follow the links below to watch the interviews and see stunning photographs taken by a professional photographer, follow along with a human-reviewed interview transcript, and ask questions or leave reactions via comments using this NowComment platform:

  • Sage Bradburn had the lead role of Lady Liberty; she talks about the challenges of the role, the surprising power of this production, and the profound impact performance art can have on both the onlookers and performers (and shares her own deep emotions about the experience).
  • Isabelle McMahon was the co-creator and Production Coordinator; she talks about the power and value of performance art for activists, the importance of being brave in the face of attempted authoritarian intimidation, and why the movement means so much to her as an American by choice.
  • Nancy DeWitt was the co-creator and Creative Director; she talks in-depth about the creative process that made her collaboration with Isabelle so successful, and how the idea for the production evolved into the complex undertaking it turned out to be.
  • John D'earth, recently retired after 40 years as UVA’s Director of Jazz Performance, assembled and led a 45-member impromptu band. John talks about his surprisingly great experience as a professional musician plugging in to a very amateur community event, the composition he contributed to the performance, and his thoughts on many political topics, including race and what really makes America great.
  • Rebecca George is a local professional photographer who took wonderful photos of the parade; in the interview she gives tips on capturing the action at rallies and special events in interesting, attention-grabbing ways. She’s generously created an “open gallery” giving us (and you!) free access to, and free use of, all her jazz parade shots (just please give Rebecca George Photography a photo credit for any photos you use).
  • Emily Little was the jazz parade’s drum major and got to see the first reactions people hanging out on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall had when they heard and then saw our musicians and actors and singers coming their way; catch her interpretation of what that was like, plus her thoughts on finding (and creating) community through collective action.
  • Craig Green and Kelly Ceppa are each a co-leader of two different Charlottesville choral groups, Wonderground Singers and Charlottesville Women's Choir respectively. Both groups made very significant contributions to the performance; learn about their groups, how they chose which songs to sing, and what they found meaningful about their Jazz Parade experience.

For an overview of how the "Jazz Parade for Democracy" came about, and how other groups might want to stage it or a similar performance art production, read the article about us in a forthcoming issue of The Grassroots Connector, a national online newsletter for progressive activists; the hope is that our success (on so many levels!) will inspire organizers and creative folks in other cities to stage this or similar performance art works.

DMU Timestamp: December 17, 2025 02:57





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