Photo by Kit Wood
Two-time GRAMMY award-winning band Old Crow Medicine Show has shared the music video for “Used To Be A Mountain” off their critically acclaimed new album Paint This Town (ATO Records). A galvanizing meditation on environmental catastrophe, the video shines a light on the impact of mining in the Appalachian region.
Along with the video, the band has announced their partnership with Cumberland River Compact, a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing water resources through education and cooperation. The partnership serves to bring awareness to the effects of climate change, connecting fans with ways to get involved in the local climate movement through local action. Cumberland River Compact will be present to share more information at the band’s upcoming June 25 performance at The Caverns Amphitheater in Grundy County, TN. See details HERE.
“I’ve been playing Appalachian music in Appalachia since I was a kid. West Virginia, Kentucky, Southwest Virginia, and East Tennessee are the places I love to play most. When you saw a fiddle in these settings it always feels like a homecoming. But time has dealt a hard hand to the region that gave birth to country music, and ‘Used To Be a Mountain’ is a song that wrestles with the issues facing Appalachia today,” explains Ketch Secor. “I think that the Intrepid spirit of the mountaineers of the coal fields of the Southern Highlands and Appalachia are some of the hardest and most important for bearers of the American dream. I think that when you take away the natural beauty and destroy the ecology of places, you don’t have a whole lot left to rebuild with. I know there’s a lot of folks that are hurting right now in the communities of the coal fields. This song is there to both reflect that hurt and to ask the question, can we do something better for these folks? Can we do something better for these mountains, these hills, the flora and fauna, for anybody who wants to breathe clean air and drink clean water in Appalachia?”
Earlier this spring, Old Crow Medicine Show released their seventh studio album Paint This Town, which debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Bluegrass Albums Chart, earning the band’s ninth career #1 and passing Steep Canyon Rangers for the most in the chart’s history. The album has garnered widespread acclaim from press including Associated Press, Consequence, SPIN, Rolling Stone, NPR Music, Bandcamp, Garden & Gun and more, with many calling it their best to date. The group was recently featured on NPR’s World Cafe, guitarist Mike Harris gave a behind-the-scenes look at his gear for Premier Guitar’s Rig Rundown, and drummer Jerry Pentecost discussed the importance of honoring DeFord Bailey for WNXP’s Free Samples. Old Crow Medicine Show was also just announced to appear in the anticipated second season of CMT Campfire Sessions, airing on August 5.
“If this is any indication of what Old Crow Medicine Show still has in store so many recordings in its career, we should count ourselves lucky.” – NPR Music
“Paint This Town could be considered the group’s most emphatic effort yet, given its music and messaging. Simply put, it’s also their best to boot.”
– American Songwriter (★★★★)
“Their best yet…Paint This Town is the work of a group who understand that the genre is sufficiently robust to withstand an amount of affectionate roughing up.” – UNCUT
“This medicine show’s passion and energy are a potent tonic, especially on songs about right and wrong.” – The Associated Press
“Old Crow Medicine Show just keeps getting better with each album, and Paint This Town is a superb testament to the band’s sterling musicianship and ingenious songwriting. This is one of the best albums of the year so far.” – No Depression
“Nearly two decades later, the ever-evolving cast of O.C.M.S. is still spreading the string-band gospel, and their new album Paint This Town sounds like a mid-career revival, thanks to a reinvigorated punk spirit, the addition of permanent drummer Jerry Pentecost, and a thematic turn toward heavy issues like addiction, divorce, climate change, and racism in America.” – Bandcamp
The band is currently on the road for a coast to coast tour in support of Paint This Town. Find a full list of tour dates below or at www.crowmedicine.com/tour.
Old Crow Medicine Show 2022 Tour Dates:
June 23 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Frederik Meijer Gardens
June 24 – Eau Claire, WI @ Blue Ox Music Festival
June 25 – Grundy Co, TN @ The Caverns Amphitheater
July 1 – Indianapolis, IN @ Rock The Ruins
July 2 – Highland Park, IL @ Ravinia Festival
July 8 – Marshfield, MA @ Levitate Music and Arts Festival
July 9 – Pasadena, CA @ Palomino Festival
July 10 – San Francisco, CA @ Stern Grove Festival
July 12 – Santa Rosa, CA @ Luther Burbank Center for the Arts
July 13 – Saratoga, CA @ The Mountain Winery
July 15 – Grass Valley, CA @ California WorldFest 2022
July 16 – Jacksonville, OR @ Britt Music & Arts Festival
July 17 – Portland, OR @ Pioneer Courthouse Square
July 18 – Seattle, WA @ Woodland Park Zoo
July 20 – Bonner, MT @ KettleHouse Amphitheater
July 21 – Bozeman, MT @ The ELM
July 22 – Jackson, WY @ Jackson Hole Center for the Arts
July 23 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Red Butte Garden Outdoor Concert Series
July 24 – Beaver Creek, CO @ Vilar Performing Arts Center
July 29 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
July 30 – Floyd, VA @ Floydfest
August 5 – Little Rock, AR @ Simmons Bank Arena
August 7 – Edmonton, AB @ Edmonton Folk Festival
August 13 – French Lick, IN @ French Lick Resort
August 26 – Rochester Hills, MI @ Meadow Brooke Amphitheatre
August 27 – Canandaigua, NY @ CMAC
August 28 – Jay, VT @ Stateside Amphitheater
September 4 – Villa Grove, CO @ Seven Peaks Festival
September 9 – Richmond, VA @ Maymont
September 10 – Columbia, SC @ Township Auditorium
September 23 – North Adams, MA @ MASS MoCA
September 30 – St. Cloud, MN @ Paramount Center for the Arts
October 1 – Minot, ND @ Norsk Hostfest
October 9 – Columbia, MO @ Roots N Blues Festival
November 12 – Highlands, NC @ Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park
