Ghosts of West Virginia

"Given his talents and inclinations, Earle was the ideal choice to write songs for Coal Country, a play written by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen about the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster, in which 27 West Virginia coal miners lost their lives in 2010. There is a certain irony that Earle created a song cycle about the real costs of being a blue-collar worker in America in the 21st century for an off-Broadway play staged by New York's Public Theater, where the majority of people who lead the lives he's singing about will never see it. That said, that does nothing to change the emotional power and honesty of Earle's songs ...".

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"Earle's main talking point for Ghosts of West Virginia is that he wanted to try to bridge a political divide in making an album that spoke to people who vote differently than he does. If anything, Earle serves here as a trusted travel guide, offering a nuanced portrayal of a time and place (21st-century Appalachian mining) that likely feels a world away for the majority of his listeners".

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