More than a chilling tale, some sort of gothic-folk creation, the new song by Eric Bolander is a song that protests the treatment of the miners of the Blackjewel Mine in Harlan County, Kentucky. The mine closed down – suddenly – the pay cheques bounced and the redundancy pay never appeared. As Bolander explains: “What the Blackjewel Mining Company did to these workers and their families was heartbreaking. I’m not very politically outspoken in terms of my musical platform, but I will always use my voice, lyrics, and craft to speak out on issues that affect folks that don’t have a voice and often get silenced by the rich and powerful.”
