07/18/10 • Kathy Mattea • 08:00 PM
Kathy Mattea, the beloved, Grammy-winning singer of such classics as “18 Wheels and A Dozen Roses,” “Where’ve You Been,” and many other hits says that her new album offered her a “re-education” in singing. That album, COAL, is a re-education for the listener, as well, a record that reshapes the way we think about music, reminding us of why we love it so much in the first place.
The songs on COAL are more than just mining songs. Mattea says she wanted to pay tribute to “my place and my people.” Raised near Charleston, West Virginia, her mining heritage is thick: both her parents grew up in coal camps, both her grandfathers were miners, her mother worked for the local UMWA.
Mattea’s childhood was steeped in the culture of mining and Appalachia but despite having a wide range and “being a sponge about music,” she wasn’t exposed to much traditional mountain music. “I never thought I had an ear for singing real heavy Appalachian music,” she says. “I marvel at the wonder of someone like Hazel Dickens, I just never thought I could do that.”
Still, she dreamed quietly about one day recording an album like COAL, cataloging mining songs over the years. The idea began to gel during the Sago Mine Disaster, which killed twelve West Virginia miners in 2006. “I thought, now is the time to do these songs. Sago was the thing that brought it all back to the surface,” she says. “I thought, ‘I need to do channel all this emotion.’ And I knew the time was right.”
It was a life-altering decision, one that would forever change the way she thinks about music and singing. “I had to unlearn a lot. These songs are about getting out of the way; it’s about being with the song, opening a space and letting the song come through you.”
Mattea, known as one of the consummate songcatchers, meticulously chose songs for the album. “I wanted some labor songs, some songs that articulated the lifestyle, the bigger struggle, and I wanted a wide variety musically,” Mattea says. She picked songs by such celebrated songwriters as Jean Ritchie, Billy Edd Wheeler, Hazel Dickens, Si Kahn, Utah Williams, Merle Travis, and Darrel Scott.
“With these songs, it’s not about how you sound, it’s about sheer communication and expression, and a way to give voice to someone else’s life experiences. It’s being a voice for a whole group of people, a place, a way of life. And that’s a sacred use of music.,” Mattea says.
Video:
Website:
Listen to Artist:
Ticket Price: $55, $75
