Everything's on Fire by Cece Alaniz x Sam Gracie
20th November 2026 at 3 PM GMT (10 AM EST)
Cece Alaniz and Sam Gracie's sixth collaboration is a raw and prescient alternative indie pop protest song written by Cece about the 2026 wildfires.
In July 2026, during the wildfires in Canada and Minnesota, hazardous and thick smoke loomed over Michigan, where Cece lives. She recounted:
“Despite the smoke being very thick, I knew the fires were far away, and it made my heart hurt for anyone who was closer to them as I can't even imagine how terrifying that would have been. I immediately thought of the people, and the animals, and other plants and wildlife that would be affected.”
Cece turned to music as a way to express her feelings. Sitting by her back window, with the fog still dense outside, she picked up her acoustic guitar to write the lyrics:
“The words just flowed out as I had a lot of intense feelings and thoughts about the fires themselves, the heaviness of it all, climate change and its impact, and our role in making a positive movement towards taking care of our environment.”
Sam, alongside producing music, has been campaigning with Guardians of Whitewebbs since 2023 to save his local greenspace, Whitewebbs Park. The artists’ most recent collaboration “Can you find me, you, us?” was a reflection on climate change and unity. Cece reached out to Sam to produce “Everything’s on Fire”, knowing he felt as strongly about protecting the environment.
The musical arrangement builds a progression capturing the varying intensities of a wildfire, which the lyric video parallels, with intertwining flames, grass and textures. And when the song breaks down at the end, the raw, stark, consequences of climate change are experienced; Sam’s driving cajon beat fading away into his closing piano, raising the apparition of a bleak, cold, once-liveable planet. This sobering outro, as Cece concurrently asks “will you be to blame?”, leaves an unresolved tension, calling us each to take action to take care of our environment.
The process of producing and harmonising on the track, and creating the lyric video for it, has been cathartic for Sam - while not having lived through such significant wildfires, Sam felt deeply affected seeing the extent of their impacts; to the point it felt almost too “real” and too distressing to work on the song.
“Having collaborated on the project,” Sam articulated, “I feel I have been able to process these emotions. I think Cece’s songwriting always captures such powerful messages, and that is what makes our collaborations so impactful and meaningful to me. Cece’s beautiful voice spoke to me; her lyrics authentic to the core. On the one hand, her singing and guitar soothes, and on the other, their urgency reinforces that the issue is one where you can’t just look away. I’m incredibly grateful that, once again, we’ve been able to touch on such important topics in our music.”
Cece responded: “Sam completely transformed my lyrics and feelings into a musical masterpiece, adding beautiful vocal harmonies, and instrumentation to convey those feelings, as well as the intensity and danger of fire, into music. I could not have imagined a better interpretation, or expression of the song (similarly with the lyric video - both are beautiful interpretations of the song).”
Cece is an independent artist and musician from Michigan. She sings and plays guitar, drums, keyboard, and the ukulele. Cece has been making music since she was very young, and currently writes both original songs and records covers of her favourite songs. Cece often uses music to express her feelings, using it as a means to get through tough times, or to express her love. Cece is a part of the LGBT community, and an advocate for equality. She believes that all are created equal, (including animals and nature), and she expresses that through her music as well.
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