Joe Troop is a grammy-nominated composer and performer playing with his bluegrass band— The Truth Machine.
He’s also a political progressive, dismayed by the direction his country has taken.
“People are not respecting the constitution, and there’s militarized factions overstepping lines that used to be sacrosanct in our country," he explains.
The unusual direction this band has taken prompted some venues to cancel concerts.
“We did lose a major radio performance, and we've had a couple gigs pull out.," Troop recalls. "I think if we had been able to play, people would have realized that this isn't a heavy-handed message that's going to divide people. In fact, it should bring them together."
And Jimmy Washington, who plays bass and hails from Salem, says the band got a great reception in Galax -- the heart of bluegrass country.
“We played at the Blue Ridge Music Center out there, and we’re talking about people from all different political backgrounds. Joe wrote this fantastic song called the Rock of Ages, about how the Christian Nationalist movement is anything but Crist-like, and that message really resonated with a lot of members of the audience that we performed to that night," he contends.
And fiddler Malia Furtado, a native of Staunton and a former instructor at the Front Porch in Charlottesville, says the nature of bluegrass is changing. The instruments and the sound are the same, but the message is sometimes controversial.
“I feel like a lot has been going on in bluegrass in the last decade or so where people are more politically vocal. There have also been a lot more female musicians and also a huge bluegrass pride movement. I'd say they're a little more active on the west coast."
Even before she joined the band, she was blown away by Joe Troop’s song called Mercy for Migrants.
“Desperate hopes of salvation forced you to leave your native land. Doomed was the road of migration, left you to die out on the sand\," it begins.
Jimmy Washington believes attitudes are changing in rural America, and with each performance he feels the band is building solidarity against dangerous changes in our society.
“There's such a history of protest music in America. I hear a lot of people asking, 'Hey, where is this music? Why isn't anyone talking about our current issues?' and -- yeah -- here we are, and I think it gives people a lot of hope."
And Joe has a simple message for those who have been reluctant to let the Truth Machine perform.
“We feel like it's very important to speak up now -- before it's too late. They'll come for our Latin American brothers and sisters now, but we're next in line. Grow a spine, buddy. Book us!”
The band played to a sold-out Mountain Stage in West Virginia last week. They’ll be at Seeker’s Church in D.C. this Saturday, at the Front Porch in Charlotteville on March first and Joe will stream live from the Trump- Kennedy Center with Venezuelan musician Larry Bellorin -- on the 12th.
