The Western Massachusetts Sacred Harp Convention (WMSHC) is one of hundreds of gatherings of Sacred Harp singers that take place each year throughout the United States (and, increasingly, throughout the world). WMSHC promotes community-based social singing from a songbook called The Sacred Harp that has been in continuous publication since 1844. The community has no institutional, religious, or political affiliation, and all who wish to participate are invited to lift their voices in song regardless of musical training or ability.

All day Saturday and Sunday, hundreds of people will sing together with breaks for socializing and a potluck lunch. The singers come not only from New England but also from Georgia, Alabama, Texas, California, Minnesota, Quebec, Germany, and the UK. For some, this music expresses their religious devotion; for others, it is a living folk art; and for others, an exhilarating good time. Whatever their differences, they share a love for this participatory tradition where there is no practicing, no performance, and no one person in charge: singers sit in a square formation, facing inward, with one voice part to a side, and take turns standing in the middle of the square to lead a song of their choosing from The Sacred Harp. Newcomers are warmly invited to drop in for as long as they wish.