Bolder and Stronger

Social justice songwriters, Crys Matthews and Heather Mae, on being big and bold and using songs in our work..

Park rangers recommend making yourself look big in the presence of predatory wild cats. The same strategy can work now, in this political moment.

Crys Matthews and Heather Mae perform in living rooms, on improvised stages, at conferences, and at festivals. They have spent long weeks on the road in 2025, performing songs with a political edge across all regions of the US

Not long ago, as Heather was packing up after a house concert in Portland, Maine, she overheard an audience member say, “She’s really talented. I don’t see her being successful when she sings about politics. I don’t know why she has to do that.”

“I think about him every time I walk on stage,” Heather told me. “There’s a voice in my head that agrees, ‘You’re good enough. Just shut up and sing; you could make it.’” But she doesn’t and she won’t. She and Crys agree: “We aren’t just artists who sing pretty love songs. We are social justice songwriters.”

Practically, that means writing to spread compassion, writing about the change they wish to see in their lifetimes, and performing to bolster the spirits of every person who is working for justice.

Both songwriters hope to inspire weary activists who will leave their concerts energized. “They go back into their community to register people to vote, to fan the flame of legislation that gives people rights, to advocate for LGBT housing.

“Many who care about civil rights, human rights, science, and free speech feel so overwhelmed,” Crys adds. “People are feeling the need to be smaller and retreat as a way to protect themselves. That level of self-preservation has never fueled justice.”

Crys Matthews and Heather Mae encourage activists to be bolder and stronger in this moment. How?

7 Ways to Be Bolder and Stronger in this Moment

1. Ignore that doubt

Heather Mae’s biggest enemy right now is apathy. What feeds apathy is isolation and messaging that implies, “You won’t make a difference. They want us to doubt ourselves. They want us to think our actions are pointless. So don’t give in to doubt or question ‘what is the point’? The point is to bring about the change we wish to see, to stand up against the attacks on our trans siblings, on our LGBTQ community, to stand against the hate and for compassion. And to remember that we have been here before, but we must roll our sleeves up and continue.”

Listen to Sleeves Up, which came out on Inauguration Day 2025.

We didn’t come this far just to come this far when there’s so much left to lose.
We didn’t come this far just to come this far
when the future’s ours to choose.
We didn’t come this far just to come this far
to not get what we were due.
We didn’t come this far just to come this far,
so put on your marching shoes.

2. Remember, it’s all connected.

You don’t have to do everything. Anti-worker, anti-union, anti-trans movements are connected to racism, sexism, and abuse of power. It’s all connected and inter-related.

“They are throwing everything at us at the same time,” Crys says. “The hope is to make us feel exhausted. If you are doing anything you are standing up for everything.” Listen to Call Them In, a song about Congressman John Lewis who said, “find a way to get in the way.”

3. Channel the Strongest Activist You Know

Think about someone who isn’t backing down. Channel their spirit. Heather Mae has seen Tennessee state rep Justin Jones at every protest in their area, no matter how small. “I get hope from Justin Jones, one of the Tennessee 3,” she says. “If he can do all that, I can do my part. He is unstoppable.”

4. Send a song. It’s a covert weapon

“Send a song to your bigoted uncle on a Tuesday,” Crys suggests. Songs share truths and stories in a medium that can get a message through. The same person who will listen to a three-minute song with a catchy tune and energizing beat might not listen to their relatives or a public radio show. “Music can do that work of inspiring empathy,” Crys says, “Music is the best covert weapon we have.”

Check out Stand Up by Heather Mae.

5. Find community

Plenty of us have lost friends to political differences. We have less contact with certain neighbors or have broken ties with family members and a faith community. Or we worry about risking these things. Crys and Heather Mae came up in the church. They want to replicate the sense of community that people find in church while skipping the abuse and bullying many experience in houses of worship. If you know someone who might lose ties with their family or church, if they break with Republicans’ political views, Crys’ and Heather’s music might help them feel less alone.

Share the link to “Fearfully, Wonderfully Made,” which takes a passage from the Bible as the basis for its lyric.

I knit you in my womb from the dust of the stars
How dare they question my work of art?
You fearfully, wonderfully made
I made no mistakes on you, on you

6. Sing. Sing it louder with others.

Singing creates a sense of unity. Music is the soul of the movement.

Follow Heather Mae’s lead: “I make my audiences sing empowering words to each other that will cause a surge of dopamine. The same thrill you get from skydiving, you can get from singing in a group.You don’t need to be a good singer to feel it deep in your bones.” Hum along with I Am Enough or Warrior.

7. Let it go.

Be realistic. Of course the outcome is uncertain. Life is uncertain. Heather says, It’s not for you to know,” meaning we won’t always see the ripple effects of our efforts. “I do know that I will not create any change if I do absolutely nothing. I do the work and let it go.”

For more on these songwriters, Heather Mae and Crysmatthews

For more on protest songs, revisit the Grassroots Connector articles on Naomi Westwater and Protest Songs: The Classic, the personal, the political.