By Kathryn Purcell
Managing Editor

The winner of two Grammys and five Country Music Awards, among other honors, singer Kathy Mattea is slated to perform at the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center on Sunday, October 5 at 7 p.m.

Pleased with the season previously booked, set to include Philadanco, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Fisk Jubilee Singers and A Couple of Blaguards, the Cultural Center was excited to learn of Mattea's being nearby, and the thought of the energy she would bring to the line-up. So, they invited her to perform.

"We got Kathy Mattea while she was in the area," Patricia DuBose, Cultural Center marketing director, said. "She's playing at Agnes Scott [College] two days later. There's lots of interest in her."

Accompanied by a six-person band, Mattea will be performing from her new album, "COAL," in two 45-minute sets Sunday, part of her "Moving Mountains Tour."

A native of West Virginia, Mattea's parents and grandparents were all involved in the coal mining industry. Her roots, coupled with the devastating Sago Mine Disaster, spurred her to compile the album, which consists of mining songs.

"When the Sago Mine Disaster happened...she felt the need to reach back to her Appalachian roots," DuBose said, of the album. "When the disaster happened, she must've thought 'This is the time.'"

Mattea carefully chose songs for the album, both for variety and to capture the essence of mining.

"Mattea, known as one of the consummate songcatchers, meticulously chose songs for the album," according to information provided by the Cultural Center, from www.imnworld.com. "'I wanted some labor songs, some songs that articulated the lifestyle, the bigger struggle, and I wanted a wide variety musically,' Mattea says. She picked songs by such celebrated songwriters as Jean Ritchie, Billy Edd Wheeler, Hazel Dickens, Si Kahn, Utah Williams, Merle Travis, and Darrel Scott."

"I think these songs are going to blow you out emotionally," DuBose said.

Along with the concert Sunday, Mattea will be delivering a lecture, titled "Finding Your Path," on Monday, October 6 at 12:30 p.m. in the Auditorium.
"She will tell her story about how she made her way in the music world," DuBose said.

While Mattea typically gives the lecture to music students, it applies to all who thrive through creativity.

"According to Kathy Mattea, it's good not only for someone in music but also for those looking to an art path," DuBose said.

In addition to the lecture, the Varsity will have a station from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday on the lawn at the Cultural Center for those looking to have lunch. And, if you want lunch and to hear the lecture, participants are invited to take their Varsity food inside to eat while they listen to Mattea.

Tickets for Mattea's "Moving Mountains" concert on Sunday, October 5 at 7 p.m. are $35 for Cultural Center members and $45 for non-members. Tickets for Mattea's lecture, "Finding Your Path," on Monday, October 6 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. are available for $5; students are admitted free with a student ID.

For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center at 706.342.4743, toll-free at 877.233.0598 or info@madmorg.org.