For nearly 30 years, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Kathy Mattea has been gathering songs and pieces of information about coal mining. Raised in Charleston, W.Va., Mattea grew up in a mining family.
When the Sago Mine disaster killed 12 West Virginia miners in 2006, Mattea set to work creating an album based on the things she had been collecting.
Tonight in the UTC Fine Arts Center, she will perform the songs from her latest album, "Coal," as the opening act in the Patten Performances series.
"Having an artist of Kathy's caliber is something we aim for every year, but this is particularly gratifying since her latest work is so strong and important," said Patten Performances presenter Bob Boyer.
SAVE THE DATEThe 2010-11 series of Patten Performances, named for celebrated performing artist Dorothy Patten, features music, theater and dance. Adult/senior season subscriptions are available for five ($105/$85), six ($120/$102) or seven shows ($133/$119) and may include receptions with singer Kathy Mattea and actor Anthony Zerbe.* Nov. 16: "It's All Done With Mirrors" by Anthony Zerbe.* Jan. 18: The Eroica Trio.* Jan. 31: Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana dance company.* Feb. 19: "The Glass Menagerie" by Walnut Street Theatre.* March 29: SF Jazz Collective.If You Go* What: Patten Performances present Kathy Mattea.* When: 8 tonight.* Where: UTC Fine Arts Center, corner of Vine and Palmetto streets.* Admission: $15 students, $19 seniors $22 adults (series subscriptions available).* Phone: 425-4269.* Website: tickettracks.com.
Mattea said in earlier interviews that the Sago disaster brought back a lot of memories for her. Her parents grew up in mining camps, and both grandfathers were miners.
"I thought, 'Now is the time to do these songs.' Sago was the thing that brought it all back to the surface," she said.
"When I was about 9, 78 miners were killed in the Farmington disaster, near Fairmont (W.Va.) in 1968. When Sago happened, I got catapulted back to that moment in my life, and I thought, 'I need to do something with this emotion, and maybe this album is the place to channel it.' "
Mattea won a Grammy for "18 Wheels and a Dozen Roses." The former backup singer for Bobby Goldsboro also had hits with "Goin' Gone," "Come From the Heart," "Burnin' Old Memories," "She Came From Fort Worth," "Lonesome Standard Time" and "Walking Away a Winner."
Making "Coal" was more than a recording session for Mattea, she said.
"This record reached out and took me. It called to me to be made," she said.
"If you go through your life and you try to be open, you try to think how can you be of service, how can your gifts best be used in the world ... if you ask that question every day, you find yourself at the answer. And it's not always what you thought it would be when you asked."
She said she used her gut in choosing the songs for the project, which was produced by Marty Stuart, and tried to pick them based on the stories they tell about mining.
Among the tracks are the ballad "The Coming of the Roads," the rousing "The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore" and "Coal Tattoo," and the sorrowful "Red-Winged Black Bird" and "Lawrence Jones."