October 30, 2024
On this autumn night, nearly 15 years after his untimely passing, I'm finally finding whatever it takes to be able to sing one of my friend Keith Pitzer's songs. The tears still are hanging right on the edge, but Saturday night I will be with people celebrating 30 years of recovery and preservation in West Virginia's beautiful Cheat River watershed. I'm damn well going to make sure his musical legacy is as well-represented as I can; in so many ways to me Keith and Joan gave voice to the river and the people.
And yes, all these years later, I still tear up when I hear his voice. Their music is beautiful, and you should hear it. I'm not sure that anyone, even their talented sons, has performed "Living Out There" since Keith passed. That streak will end in Morgantown Saturday night, whether it costs me a few tears or not. My friend deserves that. So does Joan, and it gives me strength knowing that she'll be there, ready to hear their music sung out in the world again.
This one is another of my favorites, from their final album Gathering Stones.
Backstage at Notre Dame University, South Bend IN, as part of our label's Falling Mountain Music showcase, Sept. 2007.
Joan & Keith with a side guy, during the Moving Mountains tour,
International Storytelling Center, Jonesborough TN, early 2005.
Friends doing what friends do on down time during a tour, getting in a show-day hike on the Appalachian Trail near Carvers Gap on the NC/TN border, early 2005.