What We Do
All the Rivers amplifies immigrant voices through music and storytelling, fostering belonging, cultural understanding, and connection across communities in Vermont and beyond.
Our Mission
We imagine communities where many cultures flow together—where immigrant voices shape the cultural narrative, and creativity becomes a pathway to justice, dignity, and collective belonging.
Our vision
As political, environmental, and social pressures continue to threaten immigrant communities around the world, All the Rivers rises to celebrate and support the rich cultural fabric that migrant and resettled community members are weaving in Vermont. Curated and directed by musician and activist Avi Salloway (Billy Wylder / Bombino), All the Rivers is a global music ensemble bringing together more than 20 international musicians from 10 countries who now call Vermont home.
Singing in six languages, the ensemble amplifies immigrant voices through concerts, storytelling, and educational workshops. At its core, All the Rivers is both a celebration and a conversation—one that honors the cultural richness immigrants bring to Vermont while fostering understanding, belonging, and connection across communities.
The ensemble includes the Burlington-based Congolese Choir; West African percussionists; Steeve Valcourt and Nadine Niles of Haiti’s Lakou Mizik; Colombian singer-songwriter Cintia Lovo; balafon master Ousmane Camara from Guinea; Ernesto Villalobos from Veracruz, Mexico; and many others, all in collaboration with Salloway and his bandmates. Together, this vibrant collective interlaces stories of migration, identity, justice, displacement, love, freedom, home, and belonging through powerful, genre-spanning performances rooted in lived experience.
Founded in 2024, All the Rivers made its debut at Burlington’s Festival of Fools and has quickly grown into an ongoing artistic collaboration and emerging cultural movement. At a time when migration and identity are deeply politicized, the project offers a space for understanding and solidarity—where music becomes a bridge across difference and a platform for immigrant artists to be seen, heard, and celebrated.
The next chapter of All the Rivers centers on three major milestones: the creation of a debut studio album, the production of a documentary film, and a large-scale benefit concert at the Flynn Theatre on March 11. The performance will also feature special collaborations with internationally acclaimed musicians from Vermont. Proceeds from the concert will benefit the Association of Africans Living in Vermont (AALV) and Migrant Justice, grounding the project’s artistic work in direct support for immigrant-led organizations.
Central to All the Rivers’ mission are partnerships with community organizations including Migrant Justice, AALV, and the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project. These collaborations ensure that the ensemble’s work remains deeply connected to advocacy, cultural education, and immigrant leadership, while investing in long-term cultural infrastructure through music, mentorship, and storytelling.
Looking ahead, All the Rivers is developing a scalable ensemble for regional touring, producing its debut album and documentary in spring 2026, and working toward nonprofit status to sustain and expand its impact across Vermont and the Northeast.
