A Concert for Doula Training

Summary

Podcast Summary: "A Concert for Doula Training"

Podcast: All Of It with Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Episode Date: December 5, 2025
Guest: Domino Kirke — Musician, Doula, Founder of Carriage House Birth
Main Event Previewed: Mama Was a Rolling Stone Benefit Concert (Dec 17, National Sawdust, NYC)

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Episode Overview

This episode spotlights musician and doula Domino Kirke, founder of the doula collective Carriage House Birth, as she discusses her upcoming benefit concert "Mama Was a Rolling Stone." The concert gathers musician-mothers performing to support affordable doula services and training in NYC. Through candid conversation, Kirke and host Alison Stewart explore the intersections of art, motherhood, birth work, and community — culminating in a conversation about reclaiming agency and fostering support around both the creative and maternal journeys.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Birth of a Doula Collective (01:27 - 04:34)

• Origin of Carriage House Birth:

  • Kirke describes founding the collective in 2012 as a response to a growing desire among city dwellers to reclaim community-driven birth experiences, rather than only relying on hospitals.

  "The goal of the collective was to create community around pregnant families and pregnant people... We don't live in intergenerational homes anymore... I want to be that person for a family or a person giving birth because I feel that is the missing link." — Domino Kirke (03:30)

• Personal Motivation:

  • After a challenging birth experience and sensing a lack of supportive, non-medical care, Kirke sought doula support and ultimately felt called to the role.
  • She emphasizes the ancient roots of birth support and the vital need for companionship during childbirth, especially in urban, fragmented communities.

Transformative Lessons from Doula Work (04:34 - 05:37)

• Presence and Parenting:
  • On-call doula work heightened Kirke’s sense of presence in motherhood.
  • Balancing service work, artistic career, and single motherhood, she expresses the deep challenges and gifts of being ever-ready to support others at pivotal moments.

  "On any profession that has you on call... You have to be fully in the moment, or you're going to miss it, because you literally can be called at any minute... It kept me really present with my son." — Domino Kirke (04:42)

Motherhood and Musical Identity (05:37 - 08:32)

• Making ‘The Most Familiar Star’:

  • Kirke’s new album explores identity shifts in motherhood — the grief and rebirth involved in letting go of a former self, and making space for gradual self-rediscovery.
  • She recently welcomed twins, expanding her family from two to four children, deepening her reflections.

  "The music really is just a moment to reflect on, you know, the grief that comes with becoming a parent, the loss of sort of spontaneity and who you were prior and just also giving yourself enough grace to get to know who you are..." — Domino Kirke (06:30)

• Album Title Meaning:

  • ‘The Most Familiar Star’ stands for Kirke herself — a return to her own center as she threads motherhood, art, and selfhood together.

  "Myself... coming back to your source material really... It's really about coming back to self." — Domino Kirke (08:02)

Notable Musical Moment:

• [09:12] Excerpt of the title track “Most Familiar Star” gives listeners a taste of Kirke’s introspective, evocative songwriting.

Previewing 'Mama Was a Rolling Stone' Benefit Concert (10:12 - 12:29)

• Concert Concept:

  • The show unites musician-mothers from Kirke’s “Mama Was a Rolling Stone” WhatsApp group: Joan as Policewoman, Rachel Price (Lake Street Dive), Odetta Hartman, Seema Cunningham, and others.
  • The group’s camaraderie, shared motherhood, and musical gifts are the heart of the event — timed with Kirke’s birthday.

  "Selfishly just want all these women in one place just for me... It's also my birthday that day, so I was like, what do I want for my birthday? I would like to hang out with mothers who make music, who I respect, who I may have watched give birth." — Domino Kirke (11:19)

• Impact:

  • Proceeds fund Carriage House Birth’s scholarships for doula training and childbirth education, supporting under-resourced families and aspiring birth workers.

  "The scholarship fund is pretty amazing... It does reach all the best people. So, yeah, it's just a night to combine all my loves and all the things I do." — Domino Kirke (12:08)

• Future Aspirations:

  • Hopes for the benefit to grow into a “festival” celebrating motherhood and creativity.

Notable Moment:

• [13:02] The show closes with Kirke’s song “City,” further highlighting her dual artistry and emotional candor.

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Notable Quotes

• On Restoring Community to Childbirth:
  "People just don't give birth in community anymore... so I just was like, wow, I want to be that person for a family or a person giving birth, because I feel that is the missing link." — Domino Kirke (03:30)

• On Identity After Motherhood:
  "You won't love your child the way you imagined right away. You won't know how to do the thing right away. The record is me saying goodbye to an old life while being uncertain about who I am in the role still." — Domino Kirke (06:49)

• On Artistic Reunion:
  "I selfishly just want all these women in one place just for me so I can hang out." — Domino Kirke (11:19)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:27] — Founding Carriage House Birth
• [02:24] — Kirke’s personal journey to doula work
• [04:40] — On-call work and presence in motherhood
• [05:57] — Making and meaning behind ‘The Most Familiar Star’
• [07:59] — On returning to oneself as “the most familiar star”
• [10:20] — Assembling the concert lineup
• [11:42] — Scholarship fund and impact
• [13:02] — Musical performance: “City”

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Final Thoughts

This episode offers an intimate look at how motherhood, music, and activism coalesce in Domino Kirke’s life and work. It is a celebration of communal care, creative kinship, and the ongoing transformation of identity — a testament to the necessity and beauty of supporting one another through life’s greatest transitions. The benefit concert stands as both a party and a powerful act of service, blending art and advocacy for the health and dignity of all birthing people.

Transcript

[A]

This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. We continue this hour of concert previews with a benefit called Mama Was a Rolling Stone, A night with Domino Kirk and fellow mama musicians. That's right, an all mom concert organized by singer, songwriter, and trained doula Domino Kirk.

The show happens on December 17th at National Sawdust, and Kirk will host a lineup that includes Rachel Price of Lake Street Dive, Joan is Policewoman, and other performers who are musicians and they happen to be moms. The show will benefit Kirk's organization, Carriage House Birth, which provides doula services and training and childbirth education for families. Domino, welcome to all of it.

[B]

Hey, thanks so much for having me, Alison.

[A]

So you founded Carriage house birth in 2012. What was the original goal of the collective?

[B]

The goal of the collective was to create community around pregnant families and pregnant people. And I think it was just at a time when people were starting to second guess giving birth in the city and how to create their teams. They didn't want to only deliver in hospitals. They wanted to give birth sort of back to the people. And doulas had been around since the 70s, but sort of went away. And of course, it's an ancient art, you know, being bedside with someone giving birth. But I feel like the collective was. Was created to sort of recreate the village or you know, community around such an intense, you know, initiation.

[A]

What inspired you to train to be a doula?

[B]

I had a birth that went not as planned, okay. As many of them do. And I really just fe lack of care, this gap in my care. And there were a couple of doulas that I had met through being pregnant. And I was 25 when I was pregnant, so I didn't have a ton of parents around me. I was a musician, and I was working.

Just odd jobs really, as a musician. And so I just didn't have a lot of people around me that were knowledgeable about birth and the birthing process. So I just sought out the care of someone who. Who was, you know, more knowledgeable than me, that was non medical. And I found out that that was a doula. So when I got my own doula or met a handful of them, I decided that I didn't know it at the time, but I was suddenly really, like, interested in that, in that as a job. But I had to give birth first. So I gave birth and I was like, wow, like, I can't do this in my mind. You know, many people can be doulas. It's all about energy and space holding. Right. So it Doesn't. You don't have to have given birth to be good at it, per se. But I felt like, for me, I had to give birth to really feel ready to hold that space and to be in that role. So once I gave birth and it went the way it did, I went, wow, I really needed many doulas holding me because people just don't give birth in community anymore. Everyone is. So it's. There's so much individualism, and everyone's so siloed, especially in New York City, where very few people are actually from. They don't have their family around them. So I just was like, wow, I want to be that person for a family or a person giving birth, because I feel that is the missing link, because we just. We don't live in, you know, intergenerational homes anymore. Everyone's just doing what they need to do for themselves and a partner. Right? So I just was like, I have to. I have to just train, and who knows where it will lead me. And then I met a couple of other doulas and we formed a collective.

[A]

How has being a doula changed your perspective on parenting, even with your older kids?

[B]

You know, being an. On any profession that has you on call, I think is it keeps you in the moment. It does a presence. You have to. You have to be fully in the moment or you're going to miss it, because you literally can be called at any minute to go and be there for someone giving birth, and it. And you could be gone for days. So I think as a younger mom, I may have lost myself in the role a little bit because it was a way to make money, but also to be of service. And I think my son, you know, I was a single mom for a handful of years in the beginning, and, yeah, that was, you know, it was challenging to be on call, but it was also exhilarating. And I think that was something that I've now, you know, 17 nearly years later. I feel that, yeah, it just. It kept me really present with my son because I just never knew when I was gonna leave him.

[A]

Your new album is the most familiar star, and you tackle something that a lot of mothers tackled. I tackled it. Trying to figure out who you are after motherhood and who you will be. How did making the album lead you to.

To a new light, to a new way of thinking?

[B]

I mean, the album for me was like. It was.

Like a medley of. I'd made a record before that and several EPs, and I touched it in those. On those records, but I With this one, it was kind of like a huge, you know, sort of sweeping reflection of my time as a mum. And I went from. I recently went from two children to four children. I just gave birth to twins about, gosh, three months ago now.

[A]

Oh, goodness gracious.

[B]

Yeah, deeply. And. But also, I mean, postpartum is forever, which is kind of like a thing we say in the birth community. But the. The music really is just a moment to reflect on, you know, the grief that comes with becoming a parent, the loss of sort of spontaneity and who you were prior and just also giving yourself enough grace to sort of get to know who you are and understand that you won't be that person right away. You won't love your child the way you imagined right away. You won't know how to do the thing right away. So I think the record is about. It's really me saying goodbye to an old life while being sort of uncertain about, you know, who I am in the role still. Because my kids are still quite young. I mean, they're 16 and. And younger. So I do feel like I've learned a lot, but I have a lot of, you know, older mothers around me and I feel like it's still. I still got a lot, A lot more to learn.

[A]

I speak to musician Domino Kirk about her upcoming benefit concert, Mama Was A Rolling Stone. A night with Domino Kirk and fellow mama musicians. The concert proceeds will go towards birthing education and doula training through Kirk's organization, Carriage House Birth. The concert is December 17th at National Sawdust. The name of your album is the Most Familiar Star. What is the Most Familiar Star?

[B]

Myself.

Coming back to your. Yeah, your source material, really. I think that's. I. My producer. The record. The record was produced by Chris Taylor of the band Grizzly Bear. And we were chatting a lot about the. About the title and he said this. So this record reminds me so much of like a. There's like a coming of age story sort of woven into the lyrics. And, you know, this to me is about you, like on every level. And there is a lyric in the song.

In the song the Most Familiar Star, which didn't always used to be called that. And then we decided to change the name of the song and give the whole record the name, the title. So it's. Yeah, it's really about coming back to self.

[A]

Let's take a listen to Most Familiar Star.

[C]

Meet me up on the roof.

Cause baby, I've got the proof.

[B]

Sign.

[C]

Reads once here so I got to steer.

Midsummer Night Show.

Oh, brother. Let's go. I've got time to kill, so hold fast, hold still.

[A]

That's Domino Kirk. So this benefit concert, let's talk about it. It's gonna be at National Sawdust on December.

And the concept, the lineup is full of moms who's involved. How did it come together?

[B]

Oh, it's funny. I mean, so I'm on a WhatsApp thread with a lot of touring musicians who also happen to be mothers. And the name of the WhatsApp is called Mama Was a Rolling Stone. And I always sort of fantasized about making music with half, like, all of the women on the thread, but I just thought, God, can a handful of us get together and just perform? And this was sort of last minute, by the way. You know, Ava Tolkien is not on the thread, but she will be soon. And Jonah's policewoman is the godmother of my children, and she's a dear friend. And so she was like, no problem. Absolutely, I'll be there. And then Rachel Price, I was actually her doula, which was really amazing to experience that, to be connected to her socially and then be a fan of Lake Street Dive. And her voice.

[A]

And so great. Her voice is so beautiful.

[B]

Yeah. Giving birth, I'm like, oh, my God. I just want. I selfishly just want all these women in one place just for me so I can hang out. And it's also my birthday that day, so I was like, what do I want for my birthday? I would like to hang out with mothers who make music, who I respect, who I may have given, who. Who I may have watched give birth. Which is just like an added.

But, yeah, like, it's Odetta Hartman, Seema Cunningham. All of them are just so fantastic. And I thought we just all need to be. I mean, this needs to be a festival. There will be another version of this show. But then, yeah, we have a scholarship fund at Carriage House Birth at my Doula Collective, where the money goes towards families that can't afford childbirth education or newborn care education. And also doulas that want to get trained but don't have the funds and serving, you know, more underserved areas. So the scholarship fund is pretty amazing. It really does. It does reach all the best people. So, yeah, it's just a night to combine all my loves and all the things I. I do.

[A]

The concert is December 17th at National Sawdust. It's called Mama Was a Rolling Stone, A night with Domino Kirk and fellow Mama musicians. We hope you have a great concert, Domino.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Let's go out another song from Domino Kirk Here's City.

[C]

I used to think I missed adventure.

While you hitch like the ro ride.

[B]

The water.

[C]

A sailor without a captain.

A cast hand more like Satan.

[D]

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[E]

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