Reverend Billy and The Church of Stop Shopping at Earthchxrch

Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir perform “Welcome to the Earthchxrch!” an hour of rousing song and moving political satire, at 3:00 PM each Sunday in Earthchxrch, their Lower East Side performance space-- a converted bank located at 36 Avenue C (Loisaida Ave., at E. 3rd Street).  Each performance is one-of-a-kind show aimed at confronting climate grief, inspiring activism and building community.  The ensemble is winner of numerous awards.  Director is Savitri D.  

Each performance combines activism and highly responsive entertainment. There are songs, rituals, testimonials from the audience, and a 15-minute sermon by Bill Talen as the energetic, charismatic revivalist preacher Reverend Billy. He engages humor and radical politics  to critique consumer culture and the influence of large corporations, playfully mimicking religious rituals to convey an activist message.  The concept is funny, but also deadly serious.

The musical score has been dubbed "radical devotional music for the Age of Extinction."  It's a vast original repertoire employs complex contemporary riffing, polyphony, Gospel and folk.