The Music Saves Mountains concert will serve as a fundraiser for NRDC's campaign to end mountain top removal coal mining in Appalachia. Net proceeds will be put directly back in to efforts to pass strong laws that bring an end to this destructive practice. "The mountains of Appalachia are responsible for countless folk, country and bluegrass songs. Now, the home of that rich tradition is being destroyed," Harris told The Tennessean last year.

Today, the Appalachians are being ravaged by the most destructive form of coal mining ever devised. Companies are blowing up entire mountaintops to get at the thin seams of coal below. Already 500 peaks have been leveled, wide swaths of forests have been clear cut, miles of streams have been destroyed or polluted, and countless communities have been harmed by this devastating practice.

"The Appalachian Mountains are where country music was born," said Frances Beinecke, President of NRDC. "NRDC is proud to be banding together with musical artists to raise national awareness of mountaintop removal and mobilize millions of Americans to end the most ecologically and culturally destructive strip mining on earth."

The Music Saves Mountains concert is an important step in the effort to enlist singers, songwriters and musicians in the cause by bringing much-needed attention and resources to bear on the issue. For more information on the cause and the show, email events@nrdc.org.

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