Jackson To Play For West Virginia Miners

Country music superstar Alan Jackson will dedicate his May 22nd show at the Charleston, WV Civic Center to the families who lost loved ones in the Upper Big Branch Mining Disaster in Montcoal, West Virginia. Profits from the show will go to the Montcoal Mining Disaster Fund administrated by the West Virginia Council of Churches.

“This is a very wonderful donation from Alan and, on behalf of our state, I’m honored for our miners, their families and the rescue workers,” said West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin. “Alan is a world-famous entertainer who has never forgotten his small-town roots and the importance of family.”

“We are thrilled that Alan Jackson, an entertainer who sings about the working family, has committed his upcoming show in Charleston to the families of the fallen miners at the Upper Big Branch mine,” said The Rev. Dennis Sparks, Ex. Dir. WV Council of Churches. “On behalf of the Montcoal Mining Disaster Fund, thank you Alan and we look forward to a great concert in West Virginia.”

On April 5th, 2010, 29 miners lost their lives and two were injured in the tragedy at the Upper Big Branch Mine, about 30 miles south of Charleston.  It was the country’s worst mining disaster in four decades.