This article originally provided by Southern Headlines

May 6, 2009

By Gordon Anderson
anderson@sanfordherald.com

CHATHAM COUNTY

Mountain Aid concert set for June 19-20

PITTSBORO — A musical festival which to aims to educated people about the pitfalls of mountaintop removal is set for June 19 and 20 and will feature performances by Donna the Buffalo, Kathy Mattea and Ben Sollee.

The first annual Mountain Aid concert will be held at the Shakori Hills Farm on Henderson-Tanyard Road outside of Pittsboro. The festival will benefits Pennies of Promise, a grassroots campaign to construct a new building for Marsh Fork Elementary School in West Virginia.

Marsh Fork Elementary sits in the shadow of a Mountain Top Removal coal mine, just 225 feet from the coal silo and 400 yards downstream from a leaking dam holding back nearly three billion gallons of toxic sludge. Independent tests prove coal dust contaminates Marsh Fork Elementary, a direct threat to the students' respiratory health.

Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Kathy Mattea, a West Virginia native, will emcee and headline the festival. Other performers include roots rockers the Sim Redmond Band, and local hip-hop artists The Beast.

Advance tickets for Mountain Aid are on sale now for $22.50 ($30 at the gate). On-site camping, food and craft vendors will be available.

For more details, visit www.mtnaid.com and www.shakorihills.org.