Kristy Chmura's "Wake Up" is a Poetic Call to Action for a World in Crisis

On Earth Day 2025, singer-songwriter and harpist Kristy Chmura re-introduces the world to “Wake Up”, a track that is not just a song, but a call to global consciousness.

First released in 2018 on her debut solo album "Stained...Glass Heart", the original version was a heartfelt reflection. This new re-imagining of ths song transforms it into something much larger - a visual statement urging us to open our eyes to the environmental crisis surrounding us.

Listen in here:

https://open.spotify.com/track/4JhNz0QyJQMiLj1IKk7VqW

The song was born from a place of quiet frustration and emotional overwhelm.

Chmura, who is a longtime advocate for nature and especially for the preservation of forests, has spent the past decade as a volunteer on her town’s Shade Tree Commission.

She’s not new to environmental issues. She has lived them, spoken up about them and worked hands-on to protect her local tree canopy. But as she watched deforestation, oil spills and unchecked development unfold both globally and in her own backyard, that concern evolved into something more urgent.

“I had to do something,” she said. “I couldn’t stand by any longer, so I used what I have - my voice.”

That voice is at the heart of “Wake Up." Collaborating once again with Damien Musto and powerhouse talents Christian Eigner and Niko Stoessl, Chmura re-shaped the song’s sonic landscape.

Where the original leaned into acoustic tones, this version embraces a more expansive, pop-alt arrangement, layered with haunting textures and propelled by a slow-burning intensity. Chmura's harp remains central, adding a mystical and organic quality that lends a sense of prayer echoing through a forest on fire.

The new version took shape in the wake of the Canadian wildfires of 2023, when smoke from the blazes blanketed much of the northeastern U.S., turning the skies over New Jersey an eerie burnt orange.

It was that moment of ecological distress that pushed Chmura back into the studio and ultimately inspired her to create a music video that would elevate the message even further.

Directed and produced by Sunbeam Productions LLC, the accompanying music video is a powerful blend of art and documentary. Rather than center herself in the frame, Chmura lets the imagery tell the story with projected visuals of environmental devastation, statistics about deforestation and facts sourced from organizations like the Arbor Day Foundation and the Audubon Society.

The music video takes inspiration from a number of places - from documentaries on Pattrn TV, Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song,” and Melissa Etheridge’s “I Need to Wake Up” from Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth era. It’s a nod to those cultural moments, but with its own voice and focus: our forests, and the web of life they sustain.

What’s so affecting about “Wake Up” is that it doesn’t rely on doom or spectacle. It invites reflection. It asks us to pause, to breathe, to notice what we may be losing. And to imagine the small, actionable steps we might take to protect it.

Chmura reminds us that no act is too small when it comes to healing the planet.

With “Wake Up”, Kristy Chmura gives us more than a song. She gives us a mirror, a message, and a melody to carry with us as we face the choices of this generation.

About Kristy Chmura

Kristy Chmura is a singer-songwriter, harpist and environmental advocate whose music blends ethereal soundscapes with personal storytelling.

Taking inspiration from nature, human emotion and social consciousness, her work bridges the worlds of classical instrumentation and contemporary pop alt songwriting.

As a lifelong lover of trees and forests, Kristy has spent over a decade volunteering on her town’s Shade Tree Commission helping to protect and preserve the local urban canopy. Her art is rooted in compassion and activism, using melody and message to invite reflection and inspire change.

Find out more about Kristy Chmura on her Website.