Waltham Musician Writes Song In Honor Of Jan. 6 Riot Anniversary

WALTHAM, MA — Waltham-based singer-songwriter Linda Marks has released a song in honor of the anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol Riots, which took place one year ago this week.

“Nightmare In The Capitol,” which is on Marks’ pandemic-inspired album Home and was recently released as a lyric video on YouTube, reflects on the shock and horror of the Capitol Riots and what these divisive times might look like through the eyes of a child.

“I’m a mom, my son is 25, and I see how the pandemic has impacted him,” said Marks. "I'm also a mind and body psychotherapist and I've certainly been seeing the impact of this period on my younger clients.”

“We have serious stuff going on and we need to work together and not politically polarize,” she continued. “It blows me away that we as people have lost a sense of the greater good.”

Marks said she hopes the new song will help people empathize with one another and think about what they can do to make the world a better, more understanding place amidst a time of extreme conflict.

"I’m hoping it will bring up compassion,” she said. "If people will listen to the voice of the child in the song, I hope it will touch their hearts and ask, ‘what can I do to make things better? what can I do to be a force of healing and good.”

In addition to “Nightmare In The Capitol, Marks has also released several other timely songs, including her pandemic anthem “Prayers” and a song inspired by Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem called “Be The Light.” She is asking people to share her lyric videos to spread hope and uplift others.

“The issues these songs address are really close to the heart right now,” said Marks. “This is all very new material that is very pandemic inspired."

Marks holds a degree in music from Yale University and has performed throughout New England. Among many other endeavors, she hosts a monthly open mic for the Boston Association for Cabaret Artists in Watertown and and has run an intimate concert series, The Music Salon, since 2015 in Waltham. Marks also co-founded an intergenerational artist-alliance group, Women In Music Gathering, in 2018 and has been involved with the Newton Festival of the Arts.

To read more about Marks or to listen to her music, click here.