Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir Credit: Photo provided by Billy Talen
Welcome to an encore presentation of the irrepressible Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir!
Reverend Billy, and the choir, was the second opening act for Neil Young’s Love Earth Tour concert in Toronto on Tuesday night — the first was Young’s sister, Astrid Young. And, all three performances were brilliant!!! I know because I was right there at the Budweiser Stage at the former Ontario Place dancing, singing and fist pumping to my favourite protest, anti-fascist, anti-oligarchy, anti-capitalist and save the Earth songs!
This was Billy’s fourth time touring with Young and I’m positive it will not be the last! Especially given the decade-long friendship and love of the planet that Neil, Billy, Daryl Hannah (Neil’s life partner) and Savitri Durkee (Billy’s life partner) have developed over the years.
For those folks unfamiliar with Billy Talen, he is a radical, revolutionary, progressive performer based in New York City answering to the the name, Reverend Billy.
Reverend Billy has been warning folks of the imminent “Shopocalypse” for the past 30 years. The Shopocalypse is the impending end of humanity as we know it. The Shopocalypse is directly attributable to the manic buying of goods and services in a futile attempt to improve our well-being and happiness while solving what ails America — and, I would argue, Canada. And, as Reverend Billy evangelizes, “All that shopping gets me depressed. But what really gets me down is that damn convenience.”
The Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir Credit: Photo supplied by Billy Talen
The Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir joined Reverend Billy in the early 2000’s adding another layer of revivalist momentum to his church services, commercial disobedience and guerrilla theatre.
Billy’s “little wars” stem from the mid 1960s when public performances created revolutionary sociopolitical change targeting capitalism and the Vietnam Conflict – an illegal American “war” that I’m couching in air quotes because war was never declared by the American government.
These spontaneous, unexpected performances in public spaces draw attention to political and social issues through satire, protest and in Reverend Billy’s case, good old Southern Baptist evangelical revivalist preaching in the style of Billy Graham whose followers included Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon — all of whom served as president during the Vietnam conflict (1955-1975). Which, I do need to add, the Americans decisively lost.
Reverend Billy with protestors Credit: Photo provided by Billy Talen
Billy and I discuss his early life and how he came to embrace the persona of Reverend Billy who has been known to pop up outside iconic American institutions and has called Monsanto and Disney the devil — Earthalujah! — Mickey mouse the anti-Christ, exorcised Walmart and protested anti-consumerism and anti-materialism in front of Trump Tower. Earthalujah!
During COVID, Reverend Billy peacefully protested the Samaritan’s Purse Mission Hospital in Central Park, New York City. During that protest Reverend Billy was violently arrested after planting a 2SLGBTQIA+ flag within view of the field hospital run by hard right apocalyptic Christians.
We discuss that incident and the fact that Reverend Billy posed no threat to the hospital, its workers or patients and was actually leaving the area before being tackled and arrested. See coverage of the event here with Reverend Billy starting at 6:49 minutes and then listen to Billy and his partner, Savitri D., speak to the hidden agendas of the Samaritan’s Purse, a non-profit that received $245 million in donated goods and services in 2021 alone.
Roundup OUT! of New York City Parks Credit: Photo supplied by Billy Talen
Billy along with a member of the Church of Stop Shopping spoke to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding Monsanto’s use of Agent Orange, the non-selective herbicide used in Roundup.
In fact, Dragonfly Wilson, a member of the Church of Stop Shopping, revealed to that public forum that her father, a life long member of the American armed forces who worked as a paramedic, died from cancer linked directly to Agent Orange. Following Reverend Billy and Dragonfly’s testimony, members of the Stop Shopping Choir began spontaneously popping up and singing my new favourite song, Monsanto is the Devil, No Glyphosates. Check out the testimonies and singing here: Monsanto is the Devil, No Glyphosates (2017).
Reverend Billy has been featured in a number of documentaries including What Would Jesus Buy? (2007), a thought-provoking documentary diving into the over-commercialization of Christmas and the dark side of consumer culture.
And, of course, every holiday season Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir hit the road challenging corporate greed, materialism, and environmental destruction.
Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir opening for Neil Young and Crazy Horse on the Love Earth tour (2024) Credit: Photo supplied by Billy Talen
Find out Reverend Billy’s Canadian connection — and, it’s much more than Neil Young if you can believe it! — and what the future holds for the good Reverend, the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir and Mother Earth.
We also discuss how the big banks — especially J. P. Morgan Chase Bank — killed the Paris Climate Accord over oil, gas, mining and plastics economics. As well as, why it’s time to do more than simply hold protests while infantilizing nature.
In the immortal words of Reverend Billy, “Earthalujah! Everyone!”
Upcoming Canadian dates for Love Earth! tour 2025: Sept 6 and 8 Burnaby, BC at Deer Lake Park.
You can often find Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir holding service at Joe’s Pub — 425 Lafayette St, NYC — or watch them online if you can’t get there in person. Check out the December 2024 performance of EXTINCTION! The Musical.
Or, at the Earthchxrch — 36 Ave C @ East 3rd St., Loisaida, East Village, NYC — 5pm Sundays, no tickets/free, family friendly — except when he’s touring.
Find out so much more and sign up for Reverend Billy’s newsletter.
Check out Earth Riot Radio.
Purchase Reverend Billy’s books, The Earth Wants You as well as What Should I Do If Reverend Billy Is My Store? and Revolution for the Hell of It co-authored with Abbie Hoffman and Harvey Wasserman.
Banyan Books and Sound in Vancouver, BC.
The documentary, You Need This, premiered March 23, 2025.
Thanks to everyone who read today’s article and listened to my podcast. With your financial support, a little Nicoll can make a lot of change.
You can also find my work in public parking, herizons, rabble.ca and on my Wix site. Follow me on Instagram, X @doreennicoll61, Bluesky @nicollneedschange and Facebook.
Music: Real Estate by UNIVERSFIELD is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License. freemusicarchive.org.
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