TODAY on WarHen Records, all proceeds from the sales of the STOP MVP: Artists From WV, VA & NC Against The Mountain Valley Pipeline album will go to the Appalachian Legal Defense Fund. The compilation features contributions from Daniel Bachman, Yasmin Williams, Ned Oldham, Nathan Bowles and many more artists from Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina.
“Music has always been a force of resistance throughout the hills and hollows of the eastern woodlands serving to uplift and fortify the souls of those abused by the corrupts mechanisms of the extractive capitalism. Which side are you on?” – Daniel Bachman
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Tracklisting |
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Disc 1: |
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01. Joshua Vana & Bernadette “BJ” Lark – To The River |
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02. Joseph Decosimo – Mulberry Gap |
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03. Tucker Riggleman & The Cheap Dates – Virtue |
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04. geonovah – STAY Alive |
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05. Solar Hex – Stone Wall With Four Crows |
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06. Magic Tuber Stringband – Undone In Sorrow |
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07. Høly River – Spirit Riot |
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08. Jimmy Costa – The Dolly Womack Wreck |
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09. Dog Scream – New Portent |
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10. Isak Howell – Logperch |
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11. Sarah White & the Pearls – I Can’t Wait |
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12. Tallulah Cloos – Marquette (Excerpt) |
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13. Elizabeth LaPrelle – Pretty Polly |
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14. Dogwood Tales – 13 Summers 13 Falls |
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15. Raven Bauer Durham & James Wolf – Elephant |
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16. The Skyline Boogie Boys – Skyline Boogie |
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17. New Boss – Frantic |
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18. Caleb Flood – Space Under |
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19. Jon Bachman – The Coal Tattoo |
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20. Joe Troop – We Don’t Want The MVP (a.k.a. Joe Manchin’s A Naughty Squirrel) |
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Disc 2: |
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01. Matt Peyton – Mt. Valley |
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02. Yasmin Williams – Hawksbill Summit |
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03. Sally Anne Morgan – Dig No Dig |
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04. Prolo – John Brown |
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05. Grand Banks – From The James To The Kanawha |
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06. Doc Polys – Sweetwater |
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07. Nathan Bowles – Nah |
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08. Ned Oldham – Star King |
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09. Space-Saver – Supreme Lord Asshole |
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10. Weirs – Neighbor Girl |
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11. Jordan Perry – Death Waltz On The Snake |
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12. Bob Martin – Three Miles Beneath This Mountain |
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13. The Modern Folk Trio Band – Pipeline Moan |
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14. Mink’s Miracle Medicine – Watch The Horses Run |
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15. Devon Flaherty – Johnny Booger |
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16. Ash Devine – Something To Say |
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17. SNAKE – Draggin’ Ass Everyday |
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18. Michelle Dove feat. Edsel Axle – Future of Now |
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19. Daniel Bachman – Last Chance |
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20. Bernadette “BJ” Lark – Keep Your Eyes On The Prize |
Stop MVP: Artists From WV, VA & NC Against The Mountain Valley Pipeline is a collection of 40 tunes from artists in Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina who stand in solidarity with community members and activists working to stop the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP).
Out on WarHen Records from Charlottesville, VA, Dec 1, 2023, all proceeds from the sales of this album will go to the Appalachian Legal Defense Fund, which will directly support the people who have been arrested or entangled in legal battles for their activism. MVP is a proposed 303-mile, 42-inch fracked methane gas pipeline whose construction path will bulldoze wildlife habits and national parkland, cut through residential communities and college campuses, and wreak havoc on various watersheds that are essential to the health of all human and non-human life nearby. Originally planned to finish in 2020, MVP has had many setbacks and is now slated to finish construction in 2024. The artists on this compilation believe that the fight against MVP is a crucial part of the larger fight against the fossil fuel industry ;and is a radical act of hope for the survival and wellbeing of this generation and generations to come.
The 40 tracks in this compilation form a roadmap of the diversity and power of this region’s creative expression. Like the region itself, the music on this comp draws from deep historical roots to present sounds that are simultaneously modern, provocative and urgent.
Album opener “To The River” is an anti-MVP anthem from Joshua Vana and Bernadette “BJ” Lark (VA), both artists associated with ARTivism Virginia, a coalition of activists and artists working for environmental justice. Other MVP-specific tacks include Matt Peyton’s (VA) snarling “Mt. Valley” where he sings “they want to put in that old MVP, but they don’t give a damn about me,” and Richmond Virginia based Earth folk duo Holy River whose “Spirit Riot”‘s driving drum beat and beautifully layered vocals create an ecstatic protest pop music. “Yes I know my nature is deep inside of me, so we’re here to stay.” The comp includes a rousing anti-MVP singalong “We Don’t Want the MVP (aka Joe Manchin’s Naughty Squirrel)” from banjo picker Joe Troop (NC) and closes with BJ Lark’s Civil-Rights-era gospel tune “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize.”
Some artists live and work within the pipeline’s so-called “blast zone,” like Christianburg VA noise group Dog Scream (“New Potent”), and the art studio of Caleb Flood in Giles County VA (“Space Under”). Also included are Black Twig Pickers members, Isak Howell, Sally Anne Morgan and Nathan Bowles; reworkings of traditional regional tunes or styles from Yasmin Williams, Daniel Bachman, Joseph Decosimo, Magic Tuber Stringband, Elizabeth Laprelle and Devon Flaherty; rap artists geonovah and Prolo; rockers Dogwood Tales, Tucker Riggleman, and SNAKE; singer-songwriters Mink’s Miracle Medicine, Ned Oldham, Sarah White, Ash Divine and Bob Martin; instrumental pieces by cellist Solar Hex and guitarist Jordan Perry; poetry from Michelle Dove, and more experimental sounds from Space Saver, Tallulah Cloos, Grand Banks and many more.
The album art combines photographs by Joshua Vana of STOP MVP protest signs, collage by Sarah Lawson and letter/illustrations by Sarah Bachman.
The artists on these two discs stand together say NO to new fossil fuel infrastructure and sacrifice zones in Appalachia. We offer a joyful noise to the pipeline fighters and their supporters. What’s your thoughts on the STOP MVP movement?