A Message to the City from RL Heyer

Good morning. It’s Thursday, May 14, and today’s message comes from one the many households in the city that has been transformed into a school.

RL Heyer is a guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, music teacher, and father. His wife (who also appears in today’s video) is a school teacher. The two of them “have a pipe dream of one day starting a school with a heavy emphasis on science, art, music, project-based learning, and building community,” he says.

“But even more important than anything is empathy. A little empathy sprinkled into our decision-making process could save a lot of heartache.”

Hear, hear! Today in his message, Heyer debuts his new song, “This School,” and its music video, featuring his family.

He will be performing the song again live tonight in a livestream—a “double bill” with his good friend Nate B playing at 7:30 from his home, and RL going on at about 8:15 pm. They play together in a band called Big Tooth when they aren’t in isolation, and Big Tooth is currently working remotely on a new six-song release for the near future.

The streaming concert is made possible through Live Concerts Stream, a small organization that has raised over $29,000 for musicians and their favorite causes since the lockdown began. RL and Nate will be giving 30 percent of what comes in from the concert to the Sea Monster Lounge, in an effort to keep one of their favorite venues afloat.

“This School” will be live on all streaming platforms by tomorrow morning. Listen to more of his music here.

Thank you, RL, for this song, and this video, and your inspiring vision of what the next generation of schools might look like.

And thanks for including your whole family in this joyful message.

We’ll be tuning in tonight to see you perform and to support the Sea Monster Lounge—one of the quirkiest, coolest watering holes in Wallingford.

Good luck with your day, everyone.

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Previously in this series:

Garth Stein’s message to the city on May 13.

Okanomodé’s message to the city on May 12.

Zoe Scofield’s message to the city on May 11.

Aham Oluo’s message to the city on May 8.

Pete Rush’s message to the city on May 7.

Trent Moorman’s message to the city on May 6.

Renée Valencia’s message to the city on May 5.

Justin Huertas’s message to the city on May 4.

Charles Mudede’s message to the city on May 1.

Kathryn Rathke’s message to the city on April 30.

Anthony White’s message to the city on April 30.

Miss Texas 1988’s message to the city.

Matt Bishop’s message on April 27.

Cherdonna’s message to the city on April 26.

Shenandoah Davis’s message to the city on April 25.

Lorena González’s message to the city on April 24.

Clyde Petersen’s message to the city on April 23.

David Ritt’s message to the city on April 22.

Sara Porkalob’s message to the city on April 21.

Julia Sweeney’s message to the city on April 20.

Linda Derschang’s message to the city on April 19.

Molly Sides’s message to the city on April 18.

Nick Garrison’s message to the city on April 17.

Tomo Nakayama’s message to the city on April 16.

Rebecca M. Davis’s message to the city April 15.

Heather McHugh’s message to the city on April 14.

Brandon O’Neill’s message to the city on April 13.

Kate Wallich’s message to the city on April 12.

Rebecca Brown’s message to the city on April 11.

Lucien Postlewaite’s message to the city on April 10.

Betty Wetter’s message to the city on April 9.

Amanda Morgan’s message to the city on April 8.

Nancy Guppy’s message to the city on April 7.

Jonathan Biss’s message to the city on April 6.

Chris Jeffries’s message to the city on April 5.

Lesley Hazleton’s message to the city on April 4.

John Roderick’s message to the city on April 3.

Bill Carty’s message to the city on April 2.

Price Suddarth’s message to the city on April 1.

Kary Wayson’s message to the city on March 31.

Ellen Forney’s message to the city on March 30.

Major Scales’s message to the city on March 29.

E. J. Koh’s message to the city on March 28.

Ken Jennings’s message to the city on March 27.

Demarre McGill’s message to the city on March 26.

Lynn Shelton’s Message to the City on March 25th.

Timothy White Eagle’s message to the city on March 24.

Cookie Couture’s message to the city on March 23.

Sarah Rudinoff’s message to the city on March 22.

John Osebold’s message to the city on March 21.

Ben Gibbard’s message to the city on March 20.

Nathan Chan’s message to the city on March 19.