Murray musician plans virtual music festival to encourage voter registration – Murray Ledger and Times

Goodman said she is working with Louisville state Rep. Charles Booker’s Hood to the Holler organization on the festival, which is named “Which Side Are You On?: Voices for Kentucky and Beyond” after the 1931 song written by Harlan County’s Florence Reece advocating for union mine workers during a labor strike. The song has been covered by Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie’s Almanac Singers, Peter, Paul and Mary, Ani DiFranco and many others, and Goodman said the title was chosen for the festival because of how it evokes Kentucky’s activist past. Reece was married to Sam Reece, the union organizer for the United Mine Workers in Harlan County.

“(Reece) was a Kentucky coal miner’s wife who penned that song after her house was vandalized by J.H. Blair, the sheriff in Harlan County,” Goodman said. “So it leans back to our history as Kentucky musicians, and it is a positive festival that is asking for people to be involved in our political process.”  

Goodman first became connected to Hood to the Holler when she endorsed Booker in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, which he narrowly lost to Amy McGrath. She said that while the event is officially non-partisan, performing artists are free to say whatever they want about the election during the segments.

“The artists are protected to say what we want during our segment, but this is about Kentucky voter information and also encouraging people to be sure to register,” Goodman said. “That’s why we positioned the festival on Oct. 1, since Oct. 5 is the last day to register in the state. This is also an informative effort to make sure that certain voters who may not be aware that they have voting privileges in Kentucky. I’m speaking about non-violent ex-felons, who now have their voting rights restored. That’s an initiative with this festival, to make sure to inform the public about who’s able to go to the (polls) this year.”

Goodman was referring to Gov. Andy Beshear’s executive order that last year restored the right to vote for an estimated 170,000 residents. She said people can check their status at civilrightsrestoration.ky.gov.

“It is important to me as a Kentuckian to work towards change for the commonwealth,” Goodman said. “Kentucky politics are of national importance. As a person who falls into the demographic of unlikely voters, I know it’s my job to encourage civic engagement through my platform and encourage other folks to do the same. I’m honored that Hood to the Holler has allowed me to align my vision with theirs, where Kentucky music is once again honoring its long history of being a medium of change.”

Jim James – who performs as a solo artist and as frontman of the popular Louisville-based rock band My Morning Jacket – was one of the producers of Goodman’s album, so Goodman said she began talking with him back in May about doing some kind of voter registration drive with various artists. With Goodman being an up-and-coming artist who is starting to gain national attention from publications such as Rolling Stone, she knew she wanted to partner with artists who could get others on board. She said she and James agreed that they should wait until after the primary to organize some kind of virtual festival, with COVID-19 still making live concerts extremely rare.

Those partnerships appear to have paid off, as several big names in indie rock, alternative country, folk and hip-hop have signed on to perform. It was Goodman’s goal for many of them to be from Kentucky or have connections to the state, such as Chris Thile, whose parents still live in Murray. Thile hosts “Live From Here” on NPR and is known as a virtuoso mandolinist and member of Punch Brothers and former member of Nickel Creek. Nappy Roots, a rap quartet from Louisville who met in Bowling Green while attending Western Kentucky University, is another Kentucky group on the bill.

Several well-known musicians with no direct Kentucky connections are playing, including the Alabama-born Jason Isbell, a former member of Drive-By Truckers who has won four Grammy Awards as a solo artist. Other big names include Bright Eyes and Phoebe Bridgers. There will also be a featured archival performance from John Prine and Kelsey Waldon. Prine, who died earlier this year from COVID-19 complications, had parents from Muhlenberg County, which inspired arguably his most famous song, “Paradise,” from his 1971 self-titled debut record.   

Other performers include St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Durand Jones, Kentucky-born cellist Ben Sollee, Louisville-born Joan Shelley and collaborator Nathan Salsburg, Leyla McCalla (cellist and former member of the Grammy-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops), James Lindsey, Jecorey Arthur (a musician recently elected to the Louisville Metro City Council), Mr. Nova, Becca Mancari, Producing A Kind Generation, Elizabethtown-born Daniel Martin Moore, Louisville’s Bendigo Fletcher and Joe Troop.

Goodman said the festival may be viewed on multiple social media platforms and details can be found at hoodtotheholler.org. It starts at 7 p.m. Central time on Thursday, Oct. 1.

Meanwhile, on the Republican side of the spectrum, the Calloway County GOP chapter is working with the Murray State College Republicans to stage a registration drive this Saturday at the party’s headquarters downtown at 102 N. Fifth St. James Humphreys, the advisor to the College Republicans, said it would be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. His wife, Joy Humphreys, helped set it up with the county chapter and said in an email that there would be a tent set up to preserve social distancing, and participants will be wearing masks. 

“We also plan to have some virtual things going soon, but this is our in-person event that’s coming up,” Joy said in the email.

Greg DeLancey, the GOP chair for Kentucky’s 1st Congressional District, said the local party was happy to work with the MSU students on the event.

“We’re excited to team up with the College Republicans at the Calloway County Saturday for an event to encourage anyone to come and to register, either for the first time or to re-register and change their registration,” DeLancey said. “That can be done either by signing a registration form, or we can show individuals how to do it themselves online.”

Calloway County Democratic Party Chair David Ramey said the local party has had multiple registration drives, including a recent one with McGrath.