The recent passing of legendary folk singer and activist Pete Singer touched more than just a musical chord with me. I knew Pete from back in the Greenwich Village days. His passion for social justice and ability to transform those feelings into songs that have remained in the hearts and on the playlists of generations will be greatly missed.
And that got me to thinking about who has picked up the social justice torch in recent years. What singers/bands are writing and performing those songs that will galvanize this generation into action? More specifically, what bluegrass musicians are taking a stand – politically, socially, and morally – with their music?
It’s not like there isn’t a whole mountain of issues out there to choose from. Unfortunately, we’re still dealing with wars, poverty, pollution, and inequality. Punk, hip hop, rappers, and rock musicians have been holding court in the area of protest songs for the last couple of decades (think Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, John Cougar Mellencamp, Eminem, Townes Van Zandt) so — to paraphrase one of Pete’s songs — where have all the activists gone (at least in the world of bluegrass music)?
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