arts & culture
Pride OFplace
T
he music of Appalachian roots band Zoe Speaks is added. “We sang a lot in church and sang when we were firmly grounded in the mountains. Music was always working. I grew up with roots in the traditional music woven into the fabric of everyday life. of Appalachia.”
“At all of our family gatherings, any kind of work we were doing – breaking beans or picking peppers – there was always singing,” said Mitch Barrett, a folk singer born and raised in Eastern Kentucky. “In the stripping room when tobacco time came, it was just stories and singing.”
Both Barrett and Gover have strong opinions about what it means to be Appalachian. They agree that stereotypes about Appalachia sell. People are rewarded for pedaling the narrative that stories about oxycontin abuse and violence are the only stories worth telling about the region.
Carla Gover agreed. “It was similar for me. I’m from down in coal country, and my mother is from Clay County,” she
“One of my missions became to give a more accurate and dignified portrayal of what Appalachian music is beyond
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christianapp.org/MtSpiritGive | SPRING / SUMMER 2018
