Jo Serrapere to Perform at October Peace Concert, November Record Release Party

Veterans For Peace Concert

The Ark’s annual Veterans For Peace Concert will take place Thursday, October 10, at The Ark.

Musician, Singer, and Clinical Psychologist Jo Serrapere has performed at the Veterans For Peace Concert almost every year. Like all the performers at the peace concert, Serrapere has a strong connection to the idea of peace.

“I do it (the Veterans For Peace Concert every year) because fundamentally, I just think it is so important…I think our world is so chaotic, and I really hope we evolve into something more…I just want us to evolve more,” Serrapere said. “And so the act of whatever I can do and donate my time for that (Peace) cause is important to me.”

This list of performers at this year’s Peace Concert, in alphabetical order, are: Annie Bacon, Judy Banker, Al Bettis, Dave Boutette & Kristi Davis, Chris Buhalis, Annie & Rod Capps, Lauren Crane, Enzo Garcia, Dave Keeney & Sophia Hanifi, Shari Kane & Dave Steele, Billy King, Pontiac Trailblazer, Jo Serrapere, Dick Siegel, Emily & San Slovmovits, Michael Smith and Rollie Tossing.

All the artists are giving their time and talents to benefit peace. In years past, the concert occurred around John Lennon’s birthday and featured Lennon’s songs, but in recent years, the theme of the songs related to the idea of peace. According to organizers, money raised will be directed toward those who see nonviolence and reconciliation as the best possible solutions for conflicts, local or global.

The Peace Concert is sponsored by Veterans for Peace Chapter 93. Proceeds go to scholarships for those in an accredited peace studies program and to assist veterans suffering from trauma.


RELATED: World-acclaimed Musician Performs Concert to Promote Peace


Serrapere shared that she is presenting a particular song for the Peace concert.

“When I was making my record, I used a Kickstarter campaign (to produce the record), and one of the gifts that I gave was to write a lullaby,” Serrapere said. “And so I wrote the lullaby to one of my friends, my friend Ted, who donated. And it was about peace. And I just finished it, and then the peace concert came up. And I thought: that’s perfect, I’ll just play it for that.”

Serrapere’s Ann Arbor connection

Serrapere has meaningful connections to Ann Arbor. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and lived in Ann Arbor for a number of years.

“I kinda came up musically while being in Ann Arbor — in the Ann Arbor scene,” Serrapere said. “And I used to DJ on WCBN.”

WCBN is the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor’s college radio station. It promotes “freeform” music, which highlights all kinds of music.

She was born and raised in Dearborn and lives there now, but is now in the process of moving to Detroit and refurbishing an old home there with her partner. She thinks of herself as having many homes — including The Ark, for which she is extremely grateful.

New releasesPoster for concert

Serrapere will be returning to The Ark on Nov. 30 for the official record release party of “The Beautiful Ones.”

“The Ark has been very fundamental to helping me develop my career,” Serrapere said. “Having a show at the Ark is like the coming home show. I released the record a few months ago and played a couple of smaller shows, but this (November show) is sorta the official CD release show. And I have a whole huge cast of people that are going to join me that played on the record as well.”

An artist’s values

Serrapere’s day job is as a professional psychologist, which greatly influences her art and life. She said her strong values led her to become a performer and psychologist, but music can also be an escape for her and help her work on herself so that she may continue to help others.

“It’s my values,” Serraperre said. “My values are about giving back to the world and healing. And my music kinda does the same thing. Music can be a little bit more fun in some ways. Like, I’m not always singing songs about healing…But so much of my writing, I can’t really separate it. It just reflects my values of trying to bring more healing and joy into the world. Because I need it. And other people do, too.”

In a remarkable synchronicity, Serrapere became a psychologist and musician simultaneously.

“I became a psychologist and musician at the exact same time,” Serrapere said.
“When I graduated from my (psychology) program, I took a class on transitions. But I wanted to be a performer, but I was terrified that I could ever get up in front of people. And so I made a goal for myself that I would get up and sing for people. And so I ended up doing that. I was terrified that I did it. And then I sang at my graduation ceremony. And that was sort of the beginning of being a musician too. So I came out of the gate doing both.”

Influences

Being a mother has also strongly influenced her as an artist.

“There is a song on the (latest) record that I wrote to my daughter, and I kinda wrote it to myself too,” she said. “My mom was diagnosed with dementia a couple of years ago. And so it was a song to my daughter letting her know that I would never abandon her, even in death I would never abandon her. And now that I am kind of going through that losing my own Mom…just that deep family connection is really important to me.”

Her heritage and culture is also a beautiful influence to her music.

“I just think of my grandparents,” Serrapere said. “Like my father’s side of the family, they’re the Italians. They always sang and they always partied….It was about joy and community and connection. Music was just fundamental. When my grandmother died, they hired a polka band when they lowered her into the ground. In that moment, we saw her more in that moment than at any other point in the ceremony … .so the celebration and community and family comes from that part, the Italian heritage.”

Celebrating community

Ultimately, Serrapere’s art is about celebrating not just herself but also other musicians and all communities. She also makes herself very vulnerable in her music, healing, and reflection.

“In terms of the November Ark concert, I really just want to celebrate community,” Serrapere said. “This record was kind of like an autobiography, my other records were not necessarily personal, like there was a lot of character. And this record is entirely personal. It is like writing my autobiography. It is about my early life. I really struggled early in life. I had PTSD and depression. I really struggled with that and kind of coming through that and starting a healing process and learning to be a performer. So the record is about that, that process.”

Many of the musicians on her latest recording, “The Beautiful Ones” Volumes I and II, will be at the November concert supporting and performing with Serrapere.

“The Beautiful Ones” features 22 new original songs. It is recorded by Dave Roof at Rooftop Recordings in Grand Blanc and produced by Serrapere with assistance from Roof. Joining her on the recording are Dave Roof (bass, guitars), Stuart Tucker (drums), John Devine (guitar), Dave Keeney (guitar), Mike Lynch (organs, accordion), Joel Jackson (pedal steel), Sara Gibson (cello), Andy Wilson (trumpet), Walter Prettyman (violin) and backup vocals by Sophia Hanifi and Michelle Held.

Serrapere credits songwriter Tom Waits, early blues, jazz, swing, and old-time country as her most significant influences. She said unlike her previous albums showcasing these influences, these recordings touch more on artists like The Beatles, Nirvana, The Cramps, John Lee Hooker, The Band, REM and more.

Serrapere emphasized that “The Beautiful Ones” are autobiographical songs about transitioning from deep depression and struggle to a deeper understanding of the beauty of life.

See Serrapere live at The Ark on October 10. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 7:30 p.m.

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Donna Marie Iadipaolo is a writer, journalist, and State of Michigan certified teacher, since 1990. She has written for national publications like The Village Voice, Ear Magazine of New Music, Insurance & Technology, and TheStreet.
She is now writing locally for many publications, including Current Magazine, Ann Arbor Family, and the Ann Arbor Independent. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she graduated with an honors bachelor’s degree and three teacher certificate majors: mathematics, social sciences, English. She also earned three graduate degrees in Master of Science, Master of Arts, and Education Specialist Degree.

Donna Iadipaolo
Donna Iadipaolo
Donna Marie Iadipaolo is a writer, journalist, and State of Michigan certified teacher, since 1990. She has written for national publications like The Village Voice, Ear Magazine of New Music, Insurance & Technology, and TheStreet. She is now writing locally for many publications, including Current Magazine, Ann Arbor Family, and the Ann Arbor Independent. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she graduated with an honors bachelor’s degree and three teacher certificate majors: mathematics, social sciences, English. She also earned three graduate degrees in Master of Science, Master of Arts, and Education Specialist Degree.

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