A Soul-Stirring Earth Day Anthem From Kristy Chmura

Kristy Chmura’s newly re-imagined version of “Wake Up” arrives with the force of something deeply felt and long overdue. First released on her 2018 solo album "Stained…Glass Heart", the song has taken on new life, and a new weight, in 2025. With Earth Day as its release date and the world still reeling from the effects of forest fires, deforestation and a rapidly changing climate, Chmura’s message feels piercingly relevant.

The new version of “Wake Up” expands far beyond the acoustic intimacy of the original. In collaboration with Damien Musto and powerhouse talents Christian Eigner and Niko Stoessl, Chmura re-builds the song into something bolder and fuller. There’s a pulsing alt-pop drive under her vocals now, with cinematic synth textures and a production style that feels wide open and alive.

But it’s the heart behind it all that really resonates. Chmura isn’t just singing about the Earth from a distance. She is personally invested. As a longtime volunteer on her town’s Shade Tree Commission, Chmura has spent years advocating for urban forests and educating her community on the importance of green infrastructure. That real-world experience shows.

The video, created with Julia Schnarr and Sunbeam Productions, leans into that emotional core. Instead of flashy production, it centers on visual storytelling: archival footage of wildfires, clear-cut land, and disappearing habitats overlaid with facts about deforestation and climate impact.

Chmura performs in front of a backdrop of these images, not as the star, but as part of the message. Her voice, steady and sorrowful, cuts through the chaos, asking us to pay attention.

There’s a reason this version of “Wake Up” exists now. During the summer of 2023, when the smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted over the East Coast and turned the skies of New Jersey a strange dystopian orange, something clicked for Chmura. That eerie, suffocating haze reignited the ache that first inspired the song. Rather than feel helpless, she returned to her music.

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