Tyler Childers Delivering Water & Music to Troubled Region in Kentucky
Tyler Childers is currently one of the top artists from the wave of Kentucky musicians making a positive difference in country music. And just like many of the artists from one of the most impoverished and forgotten regions of the United States, he’s using of his good fortune in the music business to give back.
The 27-year-old from Lawrence County, Kentucky recently became concerned about the cause of many of his fellow rural Kentucky residents regularly losing access to clean water. Though the water crisis in Flint, Michigan became a national story, Kentucky’s water woes have flown under-the radar, with residents in Kentucky’s central Appalachia region regularly witnessing discolored water coming from their pipes, receiving notices about the unhealthy nature of the water, and having to collect rain water for washing and bathing. Meanwhile water bills for residents are spiking, going up as much as 44 percent in some cases.
It’s estimated that 3 out of every 4 gallons of water is lost due to aging infrastructure in Kentucky’s Martin County. Tyler Childers, who is from nearby Lawrence County, became concerned with the issue via the Martin County Water Warriors, which chronicles and catalogs the water issues of local residents. “People will steal water, people will pawn water. Water is a commodity here. It is as good as cash,” says BarbiAnn Maynard of the Martin County Water Warriors.
Seeing how many people were suffering from the issue, Childers decided to step in to help raise awareness about the problem, and to offer a sizable donation to help ease the burden local residents are experiencing. On Saturday (12-22), Tyler Childers will be at the Roy F. Collier Community Center in Inez, Kentucky to personally deliver 500 cases of water to local residents between noon and 3:00 p.m., as well as to play a special acoustic performance.
Jimmy Don Kerr, chairman of the Martin County Water Board, said that Childers reached out to them to see how he could help. “It’s a big deal for someone like Tyler Childers to help raise awareness,” says Kerr. “I think he has a real passion for the water situation. He’s one of us. For him to be that concerned about it and actually do something—actually put an action to it—is a big deal.”
Tyler Childers recently announced a new round of tour dates. Individuals wanting to attend his acoustic performance in Inez, Kentucky are asked to bring a gallon or case of water as a suggested donation.
Robert
December 19, 2018 @ 11:51 am
Home of the sludge river water
D Ray White
December 19, 2018 @ 11:56 am
I’m Inez bound on Saturday. The plight of Martin County’s water has existed for years. Every politician puts on a hard hat and shoots campaign videos professing love for coal, but fix issues in coal country? Different story.
Corncaster
December 19, 2018 @ 12:23 pm
As a temporary measure, people have invented water purifiers the size of coffee thermoses. It’s outrageous that any American these days has to put up with undrinkable water.
FIX THE PROBLEM YOU WORTHLESS POLITICIANS
Mike W.
December 19, 2018 @ 1:47 pm
People in this area also need to hold politicians accountable. This part of the country is famous (infamous?) for many people voting for whoever their preacher tells them to vote for. Meanwhile the jobs opportunities are crap, housing is substandard, and they have no quality drinking water.
Sounds to me like it might be time for people from this part of the Country to hold their local, state, and federal elected officials for literally doing nothing to help their situation.
Jack Humphrey
December 19, 2018 @ 12:35 pm
Unrelated but I love his new haircut.
hoptowntiger94@gmail.com
December 19, 2018 @ 7:09 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPzA4cJNxCA
Stringbuzz
December 19, 2018 @ 12:57 pm
Tyler is really an artist you can appreciate and wish the best for.
ScottG
December 19, 2018 @ 2:48 pm
I didn’t need another reason to think he was awesome but man, this is great. I guess not surprising that people who put out the best, heartfelt music, seem to actually have…hearts.
DJ
December 19, 2018 @ 2:57 pm
A few years ago I read a novel (don’t remember the title) about the water affected by coal mines, in West Virginia IMS.
It seemed plausible so I did a little digging (on the internet) and found some interesting articles that lent credibility to the book I’d read- it is a problem, that sludge being dumped and not only that the ruining of the land in general. The computer I had them on got broken (by my cat, he knocked it off the coffee table accidentally) so I can’t post the links-
My cynicism about “officials” (all levels, local, county, state and especially federal) prevents me from believing *they* will do anything- I’d love to be proven wrong, but, I won’t hold my breath- the obvious way to find who is culpable is to follow the money.
I applaud his effort and hope it doesn’t stop there.
Ulysses McCaskill
December 19, 2018 @ 5:48 pm
We’ve got counties in Wisconsin where the well water runs brown from large factory farms and politicians that pay lip service to it come reelection time, but forget about it once elected. Comes down to what’s more important really. Water? Or pumping out as many dairy products as possible from farms with thousands of cows that face shitty living conditions, all the while paying no mind to the effect you’re having on the groundwater. The answer is obvious, but it goes unfixed year after year. I guess that’s the price we pay for being the Dairy State?
D Ray White
December 19, 2018 @ 7:25 pm
Try living in coal country. All the wealth is shipped out to line the pockets of corporate overlords in St Louis, Charlotte, Pittsburgh, Houston, and NYC. The communities among the mines see none of that money reinvested in their schools, infrastructure (lnez is but one example of many), etc. Instead, once the mines play out the companies split with the jobs and cash and leave the locals holding the bag. Been that way for 125 years in Appalachia. Same shit that played with coal is now happening with natural gas.There’s a reason so many great musicians , writers, and poets come out of these hills. Generations of hardship and raw deals give people that hunger along with a unique perspective on life.
Moondog
December 19, 2018 @ 7:15 pm
Stupid question…. cause I’m sure this is more widespread than we know…but is there a way to help Tyler out in a small grassroots SCM community?
Trigger
December 19, 2018 @ 7:44 pm
At first they were saying they couldn’t take cash donations. However I just saw on Instagram Tyler Childers post this in a comment:
“For those who are unable to make the event but wishing to make monetary donations we now have an answer! You can call LaSege Natural Water directly and purchase cases at $5.80 a piece and they will add them to the trucks for delivery on Saturday! We could maybe wipe them out of stock!! If that happens there is a plan in place to log all sales and we’ll coordinate their delivery to Inez at a later date.
1-844-453-7243”
Corncaster
December 20, 2018 @ 7:07 am
I just put in for ten cases via LaSege. Good people on the phone there. They’ve got one truck full already and are filling up another. Donations are coming in from around the country.
Consider this a challenge to the SCM community.
ScottG
December 20, 2018 @ 9:32 am
You inspired me. Matched and a little more.
Gina
December 19, 2018 @ 7:29 pm
Good for him. It always amazes me that Americans should have to live this way.
Moondog
December 19, 2018 @ 7:55 pm
Thanks for the follow up…lets wipe them out and hopefully someone with a connection or 2 can get some extra muscle behind this for the sake of clean water and helping out your fellow neighbors…even short term
Doc, Cecil H.O'Dell,Jrr.
December 20, 2018 @ 5:34 am
Tyler, I will do my best to get ur friends here in WV to help as much as we can. After all we are brothers/sisters of the soul and region..u didn’t forget us and came to our aid with the drug problem..so this is a call to arms for all of WV and the nation to help our neighers..I know that with all who love Tyler,his music see that he has a love of people..not just love in his music but it is part of who HE is. Join me to give a hand or give water this year everyone should give at least a case,do it now help bring this basic right to the people of Inez and the surrounding area..” give water for the love of humans” I hope u will give back to these people just as Tyler has given to us his gifts..now return the favor and give to the people of Martin Cty. Thanks give any way u can !!
A.K.A. City
December 20, 2018 @ 8:07 am
While I do think Americana is part of something, Tyler is such a stand up guy (not to mention immensely talented). I am putting in five cases, one for each member of my family!
JD
December 21, 2018 @ 12:02 am
A great guy that does things for the right reasons, not for the publicity. Proud to know the guy, to say the sky is the limit doesn’t do him justice.
Moondog
December 21, 2018 @ 5:36 pm
Couldn’t get thru all day…answering machine…hope that means they are out of water and slammed in a very good way!
Scott Buecker
December 22, 2018 @ 9:11 am
I am a water/wastewater treatment process design engineer, originally from Kentucky. Love Childer’s music, and the fact that he cares enough about things like this to do something, it is inspirational and I am willing to help with longer-term solutions on the engineering side. They probably need to start with studies to determine the best long-term solution, then legal (go after those responsible) and funding efforts (State and Federal) to get the money for the infrastructure design (I would be willing to help with this too) and construction. That makes it all sound much easier than it will be, but this problem warrants the effort.
Contact me by email at slbuecker@gmail.com if this could turn into something.
Matthew Muller
December 28, 2018 @ 10:13 am
Hey, all you Tyler Childers fans! This is Matt Muller, Sales Manager at LeSage Natural Water in Lesage, West Virginia. We are the source of the water that Tyler ordered for the folks in Eastern Kentucky, and I just wanted to take a minute to say a huge ‘Thank you!’ for your support of not only this terrible situation that most of us will never have to deal with but also for supporting our campus at the same time. For those of you who do not know, we are a small non-profit whose mission is employing people with Developmental Disabilities. We bottle the water right here on our campus and the combination of what we do and who does it makes us totally unique in the entire country! So thanks again to TC and all the folks who have already called from around the country from Seattle to Clearwater Beach, Florida and all points in between. If you are interested in contributing you can go to our website and leave a message at http://www.lesagewater.com or call us at 844-453-7243 (844-4LeSage).