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Annalyse McCoy left the Kentucky coalfields to sing and act in big bad New York City.  What sets her apart from so many other pilgrims, in the “place we heard that everything would be?” 

She tells a simple story from back home, one that few people have heard outside the region, about the injustice of a land and a people being destroyed for profit. 

“So much of my heritage is in my music,” she says.

It’s the story of mountaintop removal coal mining in the Appalachian mountains, our first frontier.  By now, many Americans have read the headlines, seen photos, and taken personal insult even if they’ve never seen a strip mine firsthand.  But very few have had the honor of hearing it straight from an Appalachian voice.

And how many fewer have heard it in a song? 

“Music is such an important part of getting people going.”

That’s how Annalyse, and her band 2/3 Goat, get through to us, with song, that most readily accessible of artistic media.  Their song Stream of Conscience is an especially strong ballad, right from her torn heart.

“We wanted to add our own voice and write sort of a call-to-arms song.”

McCoy spoke with TENTHMIL about her music, her mountains, and her mission.

Annalyse McCoy and 2/3 Goat - (Annalyse McCoy with her group, 2/3 Goat, at The Bitter End in NYC.)