Steve Earle & The Dukes have a new album coming this May. Titled “Ghosts Of West Virginia”, it’s built largely from songs Earle wrote for Coal Country, a new play by The Exonerated’s Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen running throughout March at NYC’s Public Theater. Earle performs the tunes as part of the stage production, which is currently in previews.
Whereas Earle sees his The Revolution Starts…Now album as an exercise in preaching to the choir, he conceived Ghosts Of West Virginia in the hopes of connecting with working people who don’t see the world the same way he does. In a press release, he explains, “I thought that, given the way things are now, it was maybe my responsibility to make a record that spoke to and for people who didn’t vote the way that I did.”
The album’s lead single is called “Devil Put The Coal In The Ground,”
From the album ‘Ghosts of West Virginia,’ available May 22nd, 2020
The Fat Angel Sings 