Photo By Jacob Blickenstaff 


Steve Earle & The Dukes will release a new record – Ghosts of West Virginia – on May 22, marking the country legend’s 20th studio LP.

The album was produced by Earle and recorded at the famed Electric Lady Studios in New York City. Earle recently shared the LP’s first single, dubbed “Devil Put the Coal in the Ground.”

According to a press release, “Ghosts of West Virginia centers on the Upper Big Branch coal mine explosion that killed twenty-nine men in that state in 2010, making it one of the worst mining disasters in American history. Investigations revealed hundreds of safety violations, as well as attempts to cover them up, and the mine’s owners were forced to pay more than $200 million in criminal liabilities.”

“I thought that, given the way things are now, it was maybe my responsibility to make a record that spoke to and for people who didn’t vote the way that I did,” Earle added. “One of the dangers that we’re in is if people like me keep thinking that everyone who voted for Trump is a racist or an asshole, then we’re fucked, because it’s simply not true. So this is one move toward something that might take a generation to change. I wanted to do something where that dialogue could begin.”

To pre-order Ghosts of West Virginia click here.

Listen to “Devil Put the Coal in the Ground” below: